Search Result for "rathole": 
Wordnet 3.0

NOUN (2)

1. a hole (as in the wall of a building) made by rats;

2. a small dirty uncomfortable room;


WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

rathole n 1: a hole (as in the wall of a building) made by rats 2: a small dirty uncomfortable room
The Jargon File (version 4.4.7, 29 Dec 2003):

rathole [from the English idiom ?down a rathole? for a waste of money or time] A technical subject that is known to be able to absorb infinite amounts of discussion time without more than an infinitesimal probability of arrival at a conclusion or consensus. ?That's a rathole? (or just ?Rathole!?) is considered a pre-emptive bid to change the subject. The difference between ratholes and religious issues is that a holy war cannot be pre-empted in this way. Canonical examples are XML namespaces and open-source licensing.