This week’s theme
There’s a word for it

This week’s words
idiolatry
cynanthropy
bolt-hole
hyperacusis
yesternoon

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A.Word.A.Day

PRONUNCIATION:

(BOLT-hol)

MEANING:

noun:
1. A place of escape, hiding, or seclusion.
2. A hole through which to escape when in danger.

ETYMOLOGY:

From bolt + hole, from Old English bolt (a heavy arrow) + Old English hol (hole, cave). Earliest documented use: 1851.

USAGE:

“[New Zealand’s] growing reputation among the superrich as a bolt-hole -- a place insulated from the perils of nuclear war or pandemic -- has probably helped to bolster that image.”
Natasha Frost; What a Job Posting That Went Viral Says About New Zealand; The New York Times; Nov 4, 2022.

See more usage examples of bolt-hole in Vocabulary.com’s dictionary.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: