square john

English

Noun

square john (plural square johns)

  1. (prison slang) A prisoner who generally obeys the rules and avoids trouble.
    • 1987, John Irwin, The Jail: Managing the Underclass in American Society, page 38:
      Occasionally reputable persons, or "square johns," commit a felony of the type that leads to arrest […]
    • 2017, David Musick, Kristine Gunsaulus-Musick, American Prisons: Their Past, Present and Future, page 27:
      Like thieves, square johns are a shrinking proportion of the American inmate population.
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