knothole
English
Etymology
knot + hole.
Noun
knothole (plural knotholes)
- In a piece of lumber, a void left by a knot in the wood; such holes are often convenient for peering through when they occur in fences.
- 1893, Bierce, Ambrose, Can Such Things Be:
- Looking in the same direction, I saw that the knothole in the wall had indeed become a human eye -- a full, black eye, that glared into my own with an entire lack of expression more awful than the most devilish glitter.
- 1915, Grey, Zane, The Redheaded Outfield:
- Red Gilbat was nutty....When the gong rang at the ball grounds there were ten chances to one that Red would not be present. He had been discovered with small boys peeping through knotholes at the vacant left field he was supposed to inhabit during play.
- 1987, Miller, Richard; Rhodes, Gregory L., “The Life and Times of the Old Cincinnati Ballparks”, in Queen City Heritage, volume 45, number 2, Cincinnati Historical Society, pages 25–41:
- These city-owned parks, regal concrete crowns with acres of parking lots and nary a knothole to peek through, are a definite swing away from the democratic character of the earlier ballparks.
- 2012, Stephen King, 11/22/63, p. 836:
- Besides, there's an old saying: peek not through a knothole, lest ye be vexxed.
-
- (Cincinnati, sports, attributive) Youth league baseball.
- 1976, Rose, Pete; Bob Hertzel, quoting Pete Rose, Pete Rose's winning baseball, H. Regnery Co., page 10:
- But he was worried that a coach of a knothole team might not like the idea and not let me switch-hit. So, my dad went to the coach.
- 1993 March, Graham, Michael, quoting Rob Portman, “Mr. Portman Goes to Washington”, in Cincinnati, page 32:
- I was a Cub Scout. I went to church with my family, and taught Sunday school when I was in my teens. I played knothole baseball and rooted for the Reds.
- 1998 September, Wheeler, Lonnie, “The river runs through it”, in Cincinnati, page 151:
- Poetically enough, the New Richmond knothole field is situated right next to the low, open land between the old and new highway.
- 2009, Caraway, Robin, “Bellevue Vets”, in Paul A. Tenkotte, James C. Claypool, editors, The Encyclopedia of Northern Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky: University Press of Kentucky, →ISBN, page 79:
- In 1955 members organized their first baseball league; softball and knothole baseball were added later.
-
Hypernyms
- (youth league baseball): peewee
Derived terms
- knothole section
Translations
void left by a knot in the wood
|