hole-and-corner
Americanadjective
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secretive; clandestine; furtive.
The political situation was full of hole-and-corner intrigue.
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trivial and colorless.
She was living a hole-and-corner existence of daily drudgery.
adjective
Etymology
Origin of hole-and-corner
First recorded in 1825–35
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
You can sit in their parlor lounge, which has these nice, colorful couch sofas or these elegant corner chairs.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 11, 2025
He arrived at the White House clutching the paper bag and wolfed down the fast-food fare in his elegant corner office before heading for the Cabinet Room.
From Time Magazine Archive
Last week in the elegant corner office of University President Donald Kennedy, it seemed that anything had indeed been possible, and would continue to be so.
From Time Magazine Archive
Two-thirds of this backlog is for corporate accounts�all the way from $20-50,000 plant additions, to a super store for Tiffany & Co. on the elegant corner of Manhattan's Fifth Avenue and 57th Street.
From Time Magazine Archive
They make an elegant corner dish, or a dessert.—Another way.
From The Cook and Housekeeper's Complete and Universal Dictionary; Including a System of Modern Cookery, in all Its Various Branches, Adapted to the Use of Private Families by Eaton, Mary, fl. 1823-1849
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
