rat hole

Noun

rathole (plural ratholes)

1. An entrance to a living area or passageway used by mice or rats.
2. A living area used by mice or rats, or a similar living area used by other animals.
   • Bhantus catch the sanda, or broad-tailed lizard, which dwells in rat-holes in the ground and lives always in fear of the cobra.1913, Journal of the Gypsy Lore Society, page 122
3. A particularly squalid human residence or other place.
4. An area of a silo that has undergone ratholing, so that material moves mostly through the centre and accumulates around the edges.
5. A pigeonhole.

See all 10 meanings of rathole