As an adjective: causing choking or difficult breathing; as a noun (British slang): a prison or jail.
From choke (Old English 'aceocian') + -y (adjective suffix). The prison sense developed in 19th-century British and Australian slang, likely from the sensation of being confined and unable to breathe freely.
The British could have said 'suffocating prison,' but instead they took the verb 'choke' and added -y to create a single, punchy word—a very English way of turning big concepts into tiny, poetic insults.
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