ArialFrom a friend,
my brother:
The word "jail" is from English gaol pron. jail.
the "g" of gem, George, gimcrack, gin, etc. sounds like "j" to
illiterate irish people in NYC ca. 1850-1880 when slang term "g:" for
jail evolved, "g" is the cooler (cu/laire: a dark recessed place, a
dungeon, a jail.) probably here the "UP" refers to UP NORTH of NYC in
Ossining, AKA SING SING.
Arial68%
of NYC jail population in 1868 is irish or irish american.
it wasn;'t any classical reference to heaven it was a saol luim (slum)
term for JAIL (gaol.)
d