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rat in a hole

English translation: not a standard idiomatic expression, more of a mixed metaphor

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GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)

English term or phrase:	rat in a hole
English translation:	not a standard idiomatic expression, more of a mixed metaphor
Entered by:	Stephanie Ezrol

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13:15 Mar 11, 2010

English to English translations [PRO]
Idioms / Maxims / Sayings

English term or phrase: rat in a hole

One of my students used this expression meaning "all alone", "by yourself".

e.g. He did this work like a rat in a hole (He did this work all alone)

Can you use this expression in this meaning? Is it an idiom at all?

Thanks!

Oleksiy Markunin KudoZ activity Questions: 191 (none open) (1 without valid answers) (12 closed without grading) Answers: 346 Ukraine
Local time: 04:10

not a standard idiomatic expression, more of a mixed metaphor

Explanation:
The English expression comes from Jonathan Swift, "Not die here in a rage, like a poisoned rat in a hole," in his letter to Bolingbroke, March 21, 1729.

The original draws up the image of the angry snarling rat. As Jenni said rats are social creatures they don't "hole up" on their own, so to speak.

In fact your student may simply being thinking of the other English expression "hole up," which does convey the idea of going off alone -- which people sometimes do to get the quiet to get word done.

Here's "hole up."
hole up
2. Informal To take refuge in or as if in a hideout.
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009.

The older "not die" phrase shows up widely in written literature. Here's one from the New York Times, May 17, 1870.

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9E02E4D71E3CE...

It's an article titled, Fun Ahead, which were the last words of a porter on a freight train just before the freight train hit a passenger train. The accident killed the porter and 18 others.

"The one dies 'like a poisoned rat in a hole,' the other has a chance of evading the destroyer."

I think your student is creating a mixed metaphor drawing on the much more recent image of Saddam Hussein before he was captured -- living alone in a hole and the "hole up," which does not have the rage of a trapped rat.

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Note added at 1 hr (2010-03-11 15:15:23 GMT)
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CORRECTION OF MY TYPO:

"get work done", not "get word done."

Selected response from:

Stephanie Ezrol
United States
Local time: 21:10

Grading comment

Your explanation seems to be the most detailed. Thanks! Thanks everyone!
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer

Summary of answers provided

5 +4

not a standard idiomatic expression, more of a mixed metaphor

Stephanie Ezrol

4 +4

he worked incessantly, without a break

Jenni Lukac

4 +2

with a sense of frenzied isolation

Oliver Lawrence

trapped

Kim Metzger

5 -2

a hobbit in a hole

Alexandra Taggart

Discussion entries: 5

Answers

6 mins confidence:

trapped

Explanation:
Generally, I'd say the expression means 'trapped' and not 'all alone'

There I was — trapped like a rat in a hole, being put deeper and deeper into the water. soon it was up to my waist. tugged at the door, but it was no use. ...
news.google.com/newspapers?nid=888&dat=19380621&id...

Kim Metzger
Mexico
Local time: 20:10
Works in field
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 55

15 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +4

he worked incessantly, without a break

Explanation:
If you look in Internet, most of the "like a rat in a hole" entries will be about Sadaam Hussein and other s that were literally trapped. However, the idea of being "like a rat in a hole" also evokes the idea of not seeing the light of day. I believe that this student wanted to say that he did the work one his own, shutting himself off from everyone else, without taking a break, until he finished it. It is a traditional metaphor that is somewhat unfounded: rats are very social creatures that long for company.

Jenni Lukac
Local time: 03:10
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 16

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)

agree

Yasutomo Kanazawa: very well explained//Yes, you're right!! -:)

1 min

-> Cheers and thanks, Yasutomo - like translators often work, isn't it?

agree

Goldcoaster: that's it, Jenni/so is mine with snow flurries and sub-zero temperatures! Where the heck is spring??

10 mins

-> Cheers and thanks, Rolf. With the mercury at zero here in Aragon, my rat hole is looking rather cozy today...

agree

John Detre: "like a rat in a hole" in this sense is not an idiom but there's nothing wrong with saying it - why shouldn't students use original similes?

34 mins

-> Cheers and thanks, John. I agree with you.

agree

Mirra_: :)

1 hr

-> Good afternoon and thanks, Mirra.

neutral

Alexandra Taggart: I wouldn't like to put "disagree" for you, angel!(See my answer)

8 hrs

-> Good morning Alexandra. Maybe Oleksiy will ask this student for more details and let us know what he or she tells him!

38 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +2

like a rat in a hole with a sense of frenzied isolation

Explanation:
NB this target terms is intended to be an explanation, not an alternative idiom.
He shut himself off from the world and concentrated, head down, on doing what he had to do. Like a student on a midnight coffee frenzy during an essay crisis :).

Oliver Lawrence
Italy
Local time: 03:10
Works in field
Native speaker of:

English

52 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +4

not a standard idiomatic expression, more of a mixed metaphor

Stephanie Ezrol
United States
Local time: 21:10
Works in field
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 19

Grading comment

Your explanation seems to be the most detailed. Thanks! Thanks everyone!

8 hrs confidence:

peer agreement (net): -2

a hobbit in a hole

Explanation:
http://www.google.ru/search?hl=ru&newwindow=1&client=firefox...

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Note added at 9 hrs (2010-03-11 22:16:38 GMT)
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"Like a rat in a hole" means "all alone, but in comfort". You student must be from Britain or had studied/lived there. This expression became common in UK with a renewed popularity of Tolkien books, especially when "Lord of the Rings" went to British cinema.
http://www.coldal.org/hobbit.html

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Note added at 2 days5 hrs (2010-03-13 18:52:55 GMT)
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Rats - they are wonderful pets, aren't they? British animal rights activists and generally those who simply love animals prefer to use phrases with animals mentioned in them only in positive/neutral sense.May be not relevant, albeit may support my answer.I have suspicion, that your student is from Poland, if he/she is not English.

Alexandra Taggart
Russian Federation
Local time: 05:10
Native speaker of:

English,

Russian
PRO pts in category: 8

Notes to answerer

Asker: Hm.. Can't quite agree with you on this point. And Kim Metzger is right my students are Russian/Ukrainian native speakers.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)

disagree

Kim Metzger: When Oleksiy's English student wrote "like a rat in a hole" and thought it meant "all alone" he was mistaken about the meaning of the phrase he used. I assume Oleksiy teaches English to native speakers of Ukrainian.

52 mins

-> Please, make your comments within the merits of my answer.

disagree

Jim Tucker: Colorful, but rats and hobbits are at opposite ends of the evocative spectrum. When Thorin wants to insult Bilbo, he calls him a descendant of rats. (Which he obviously is not.)// Exactly. ("Where you circle"? Now I feel like a buzzard!)

17 hrs

-> I flock with birds of feather - actors, artists and writers (both British and Russians).

neutral

Rachel Fell: You brought up Tolkien when you used "hobbit" in your answer. British? Native?

3 days1 hr

-> The only question is - what sort of, but, yes.

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Changes made by editors

Mar 16, 2010 - Changes made by Stephanie Ezrol:
Created KOG entry	KudoZ term => KOG term

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rat in a hole

English translation: not a standard idiomatic expression, more of a mixed metaphor

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rat in a hole

English translation: not a standard idiomatic expression, more of a mixed metaphor

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KudoZ™ translation helpThe KudoZ network provides a framework for translators and others to assist each other with translations or explanations of terms and short phrases.

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The KudoZ network provides a framework for translators and others to assist each other with translations or explanations of terms and short phrases.