to go to the basket
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
Old slang for to go to prison: referring to the dependence of the lowest grade of poor prisoners (those in the "Hole") for their sustenance upon what passers-by put in the basket for them.
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 “to go to the basket” mean?
Old slang for to go to prison: referring to the dependence of the lowest grade of poor prisoners (those in the "Hole") for their sustenance upon what passers-by put in the basket for them.
Is “to go to the basket” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.