rathole

[ rat-hohl ]

noun

a hole made by a rat, as into a room, barn, etc.: The first chore in the old building is to plug up the ratholes.
the burrow or shelter of a rat.

any small and uncomfortable room, office, apartment, etc., especially one that is dirty or disordered: He lives in a rathole near the docks.

Idioms about rathole

down the rathole, for a worthless purpose or purposes: seeing your inheritance disappear down the rathole.

First recorded in 1805–15; rat + hole

I certainly do, but I think they’ve gone down that same rathole in Colorado and in Montana and other places.
The Radicalization of Kevin Greeson | by Connor Sheets, AL.com | January 15, 2021 | ProPublica
The platform was in a warehouse which, like the rest of the structures in rathole, was a half-buried dome.
Wind | Charles Louis Fontenay
He knew every rathole of the system, with the same intimacy the rats knew them.
Shock Treatment | Stanley Mullen
He had seven hours to go and he was still at least 16 kilometers from rathole.
Wind | Charles Louis Fontenay
There was nothing to do but turn back to rathole and see if some other way could not be found.
Wind | Charles Louis Fontenay

You will have to take a groundcar to rathole and bring the fellow back.
Wind | Charles Louis Fontenay

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