out of joint

Slang Dictionary

joint definition


  1. n.
    a tavern; a speakeasy. (Prohibition.) : I wanted to open a joint, but I don't have the cash.
  2. n.
    a low-class establishment; a dive. : Let's get out of this crummy joint.
  3. n.
    a tobacco cigarette. : Why are beggars being choosers about their joints all of a sudden?
  4. n.
    a marijuana cigarette. : The joint wasn't enough to carry him very long.
  5. n.
    a penis. (Usually objectionable.) : He covered his joint and ran for the dressing room.
  6. n.
    a jail; a prison. (Underworld.) : Lefty just got out of the joint.
  7. n.
    a toilet. : I gotta get to the joint fast!
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases

out of joint

  1. Dislocated, as in Trying to break his fall, he put his shoulder out of joint. [Late 1300s]

  2. See nose out of joint.

  3. Out of order, inauspicious or unsatisfactory, as in The entire lineup of our team is out of joint. Shakespeare had this term in Hamlet (1:5): "The time is out of joint." [Early 1400s]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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