What does choky mean?
"Choky" is a British slang term, more commonly spelled "chokey," meaning a prison, jail, or police lock-up. It emerged in nineteenth-century Anglo-Indian usage, most likely deriving from the Hindi word "chauki," which denoted a police post or watch-station, and it travelled back to Britain with colonial administrators and soldiers. In its heyday, being "put in the choky" was a wry way of describing a night spent in custody, often for drunkenness or minor offences, and the word carries a light, jocular tone rather than the gravity of formal legal language. Today it sounds distinctly dated — the kind of word found in Kipling-era fiction or used ironically by speakers familiar with old British slang. A secondary, adjectival sense describes air or a room as "choky" — thick, close, or liable to set off coughing or choking — though this use is uncommon and regional. The word's playful ring against its stark subject matter makes it memorable, but writers should treat it as informal period colour rather than standard vocabulary.
A prison, jail, or police lock-up; British slang, now dated.
"The constable marched him off to the choky for the night."
Almost always used with the definite article ('the choky').
Informal: tending to cause choking; close, stuffy, or irritating to the throat or breathing.
"The cellar air was thick and choky after weeks of disuse."
Rare and strictly conversational; 'choking' or 'stifling' is preferred in standard usage.
The plural is rare since the noun almost always appears in the singular with the definite article.
"Victorian memoirs describe a scattering of chokeys across the district."
This cheerful-sounding little word once meant something far less cheerful: a spell behind bars.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of choky
"Choky" entered English during the era of the British Raj as an Anglo-Indian borrowing of the Hindi "chauki," meaning a police post, watch-station, or lock-up, and by extension a place of confinement. It was carried to Britain by soldiers and colonial officials and became established in nineteenth-century British slang, usually spelled "chokey." The adjective sense describing choking or suffocating conditions developed separately as a colloquial derivative of the verb "choke." The Hindi root also survives in the borrowed word "chowkidar," meaning a watchman or guard.
Related word forms
How choky is actually used
The noun is informal, chiefly British, and largely historical or jocular in modern usage; it would sound quaint or ironic in contemporary speech. The adjective sense is rarer and purely conversational. Neither form is appropriate in formal writing.
Easily confused with choky
Choky is simply a variant spelling of chokey; both refer to the same slang term for a prison or lock-up.
Chalky means covered with or resembling chalk, whereas choky is slang for a jail or describes something liable to cause choking.