rathole
rathole Lexical Profile
rathole Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A cramped, dirty, or dilapidated room, dwelling, or establishment.
"During his first year in the city, he could only afford to rent a dingy rathole above a noisy repair shop."
A hole or burrow gnawed or dug by a rat, through which rats enter and leave.
"The carpenter patched up the old rathole behind the kitchen baseboards."
North American A fruitless, wasteful, or bottomless undertaking into which money, time, or effort is poured without return.
"The committee refused to pour any more public funds down that bureaucratic rathole."
• verb
North American To hoard, stash, or squirrel away money or supplies in a secret place for future use.
"She had been quietly ratholing a portion of her paycheck each month to pay for graduate school."
North American To become bogged down in an unproductive, tangential, or overly detailed discussion.
"Let's stay focused on the main agenda so the team doesn't rathole on minor formatting issues."
• Rhymes for rathole
Word Origin & Etymology
Formed in the 17th century as a compound of 'rat' and 'hole'; the North American colloquial verb sense of squirreling away money or goods emerged in the early 20th century from the image of rodents hoarding food in their burrows.
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.