Sponging House
Preserved but no longer current.
A house where persons arrested for debt were kept for twenty-four hours, before being sent to prison. They were generally kept by a bailiff, and the person lodged was "sponged'* of all his money before leaving.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Sponging House” mean?
A house where persons arrested for debt were kept for twenty-four hours, before being sent to prison. They were generally kept by a bailiff, and the person lodged was "sponged'* of all his money before leaving.
Is “Sponging House” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.