hole-in-the-wall

hole-in-the-wall

English

Alternative forms

• hole in the wall

Noun

hole-in-the-wall (plural hole-in-the-walls or holes-in-the-wall)

1. A small or obscure place, especially such as a restaurant.
2. (colloquial, chiefly Britain) An automated teller machine (ATM).

Usage notes

Although either plural can be used for both meanings, hole-in-the-walls tends to be most commonly used for the "obscure place" sense, and holes-in-the-wall is more frequently used to mean "automated teller machines".

The British sense of an automated teller machine may have originated as a trademark of Barclays.

See also

• know someone from a hole in the wall