
Hawsehole is a nautical term for a small hole in the hull of a ship through which hawsers may be passed.1 It is also known as a cat hole.2 In the (British) Royal Navy, a man who had risen from the lowest grade to officer was said to have "come in at the hawsehole".3
References
References
- "The Visual Dictionary, "Passenger Liner"". Archived from the original on 2016-06-16. Retrieved 2007-10-18.
- "Cathole at dictionary.com".
- E. Cobham Brewer (1894). Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. p. 1351.