bolt hole

[Charles Doyle]

In the OED, a "bolt hole" is an opening through which a creature (like a rabbit) can escape or "bolt." Nowadays the term is regularly applied to a place where persons escape TO--a retreat, hideaway, vacation spot, etc. Most specifically, it now designates a house in England purchased and occupied by Iraqi government officials and tycoons who have abandoned their country to its inauspicious fate.

--Charlie
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