hit the deuces v. phr. in a penitentiary or prison, to summon help. Etymological Note: This appears to derive from the radio code “222” used by prison guards to call for assistance. The term may be specific to Federal prisons. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Katie in Kalamazoo, Michigan, wonders about the expression throw the book at, meaning to “try every means possible.” Did it originally involve literally throwing books? It’s just a metaphor in which the book refers to “the criminal code.” In the...
We dish about the many terms for “gossip,” including hot tea, scuttlebutt, the scoop, the 411, the lowdown, the dirt, the scoop, hot goss, the poop, the dope, the T. In prison slang, grapes means “gossip,” and particularly juicy or tragic gossip is...