funk hole
- noun
- Archaic
:
refugio
- Willoughby had huddled against me in his sleep, pushing me into the side of the funk hole.
Examples
-
Most were trying to sleep, though, curled up in funk holes dug in the walls.
Fiction book (1994) -
The soldiers dug a funk hole to protect themselves from enemy fire during the battle.
-
Let's get out of this funk hole, Clay.
Fiction book (1998) -
Instead of diving into a funk hole and cowering against the wall, I looked up.
Fiction book (1994) -
During the storm, we sought refuge in a small funk hole to stay safe from the winds.
-
When the tornado warning was issued, the family quickly gathered in their funk hole in the basement.
Synonyms
31
6.2
A small hole dug in the ground for a soldier to hide in during battle
1
7.5
A small secret place to keep things safe or be alone
1
8.3
A private place to go to relax or hide from others
Antonyms
How Safe
Surface Forms
Morphology
The word 'hole' readily suggests an opening or shelter (as in 'foxhole'), but the sense of 'funk' here (fear/anxiety or an archaic sense of dread) is less likely to be known to a B1 learner who knows 'funk' mainly as a short period of sadness. Because one constituent is clear but the other requires a less common or figurative sense to arrive at 'a dugout/safe retreat,' the meaning is partially derivable but not fully predictable.
Etymology
Funk hole probably comes from soldiers' slang in wartime. They used funk to mean 'fear' and hole to mean a small dug shelter, so when someone was scared they would hide in a funk hole, which is why the phrase now means 'a place to take cover' during danger.