night in the cooler
Brief cell stay
A night in the cooler is a night spent in jail, typically for a minor offense.
The cooler is slang for jail or a holding cell—a place to "cool off" after disorderly conduct, public intoxication, or similar infractions: He spent a night in the cooler after the bar fight.
The phrase suggests brief detention rather than serious incarceration.
- jailDetention facility
- county jailMunicipal detention facility
- slammerJail, informally
- lockupTemporary detention facility
- cellBasic unit of life
detention · arrested · drunk tank · paddy wagon · bars · cot · concrete · concrete floor · cold · dark · solitary · confinement · booking · booking photo · mugshot · strip search · orange jumpsuit · holding
night in the coolerlife sentence
Imprisonment without release
life imprisonment · hard time · twenty to life · long stretch · life without parole
night in the coolerfreedom
Absence of constraint
liberty · release · getting off · acquittal · on the outside
night, nights, nightly, nighttime, overnight, midnight, fortnight, cool, cooler