Past tense of clink; made a short, sharp, ringing sound like glasses touching, or past tense of imprisoning slang.
From 'clink' (Middle Dutch klinken, to ring) plus the past tense '-ed' suffix; 'clink' as slang for jail comes from Clink Prison in Southwark, London (16th century).
The slang 'clink' for jail comes from an actual historical prison in London that was so notorious it became the generic term—kind of like how 'xerox' became a verb for photocopying!
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