rathole

[ rat-hohl ]

noun

1. a hole made by a rat, as into a room, barn, etc.:

   The first chore in the old building is to plug up the ratholes.

2. the burrow or shelter of a rat.
3. any small and uncomfortable room, office, apartment, etc., especially one that is dirty or disordered:

   He lives in a rathole near the docks.

Word History and Origins

Origin of rathole¹

First recorded in 1805–15; rat + hole

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. down the rathole, for a worthless purpose or purposes:

   seeing your inheritance disappear down the rathole.

Example Sentences

“Where have you led us, dwarf? My horse does not leave my side. Climb into this rathole, the rest of you. I shall guard Islimach myself.”

From Literature

The chairman of the House Armed Services Committee called it a “rathole.”

From Washington Post

“I want to stop throwing money down that particular rathole,” he said at a Brookings Institution event earlier this month.

From Washington Times

According to the DPIC, when Virginia goes, the death penalty will be dead in a majority of states, whether by legislative action, state court order or executive refusal to continue shoveling money down the rathole.

From Washington Post

When I try to describe the civic and cultural value of architecture, I sometimes contrast entering Grand Central, the city’s great gateway, with the experience of arriving at the rathole that is Penn Station.

From New York Times

Related Words

• box
• bungalow
• cabin
• chalet
• cot
• cottage
• hovel
• lean-to
• lodge
• shack
• shanty
• shed
• shelter
• summer house