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In the clink

Posted by James Briggs on June 01, 2009 at 09:51

In Reply to: In the clink posted by Sierk on June 01, 2009 at 08:50:

: I had no luck searching for the origin of "getting thrown in the clink" on your website. I did find the following on the taboo website whose origin (URL) I will not mention here:

: The name of a prison which was on Clink Street in the Southwark area of London.
: Claudie wrote: I always thought that the doors of the cells went "clink" when they shut behind the prisoner. Maybe a more accurate name would be the "clang".

: I had heard the second (clink/clang) meaning and origin but not the first. Do you know what the origin is?

This is what I believe is the origin:
The "clink" is the name of a specific London prison which, in turn, took its name from the Borough in which it was sited. This was The Liberty of Clink, a district of Southwark exempt from the jurisdiction of the City of London.

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