American slang for jail or prison, playing on the image of metal crossbars on cell doors and windows — the defining visual of incarceration dressed up in satirical hotel language. The phrase is part of a long tradition of darkly humorous jail nicknames that treat forced confinement as if it were a hospitality venue, including the graybar hotel and the big house. Often used in crime fiction, country music, and street slang.
He spent three months checking in at the crossbar hotel after the judge decided probation wasn't going to cut it.
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(US, slang) jail, prison.
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