heart check

English

Noun

heart check (plural heart checks)

1. (prison slang) A physical attack on a newly-arrived prisoner to determine whether he/she is willing to fight.
   • 2014, Shaun Attwood, Hard Time: Life with Sheriff Joe Arpaio in America's Toughest Jail:

     I knew about heart checks from Rossetti – one of the few members of my security team who'd been to prison.