[ noun ] a criminal who has been jailed repeatedly <noun.person>
jailbird \jail"bird`\, jail bird \jail" bird`\ A prisoner; one is in prison or who has been confined in prison. [Slang] [PJC]
His voice faltered again when he told the judge how his 5-year-old son had told his wife that "his daddy is a jailbird." Spiegel allowed Rose to remain free until Aug. 10, so that he may have surgery on his injured knee.
Cliche abounds: the life insurance salesman licks his lips; the pickpocket jailbird is called 'Fingers', the bank manager is absurdly provincial. Sometimes the plot is worrying: cannot doctors tell if you are faking blindness?