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Dictionary definition of “hang-up”

hang-up

n. in prison, a suicide by hanging. Subjects: New York City, English, Crime & Prisons

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Citations: 1982 New York Times (Mar. 26) “Jargon Of Correction Officers” p. B4: Hangups—Suicides. [1999 Bill Tuttle @ Queens Newsday (Long Island, N.Y.) (Dec. 23) “Nun helps inmates beat the holiday blues” p. A43: One New Year’s Eve nine years ago, four inmates told her they were going to “hang up”—jailspeak for committing suicide by hanging.] 2005 Paul von Zielbauer New York Times (Feb. 28) “In City’s Jails, Missed Signals Open Way to Season of Suicides”: Suicides—“hang-ups” in the cold vernacular of the cellblock—have always been a jailhouse reality.

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