in the hole

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in the hole

phrase

idiomatic Having suffered net losses; in debt. Further testimony to his commercial incompetence lay in the fact that, at fifty cents a copy, a complete sellout would have left him worse than $300 in the hole—proof enough, if proof was needed, that it wasn't primarily money he was after; it was fame.
Of a card ("the hole card") which is dealt face down and thus unknown to all but its holder; hence (idiomatic) in reserve; in particular ace in the hole.
Similar: in the red

Opposite: in the black

Thesaurus

phrase

Opposite: in the black

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MLA

"in the hole." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/in%20the%20hole. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

in the hole. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/in%20the%20hole

Chicago

"in the hole." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/in%20the%20hole.

BibTeX

@misc{in_the_hole_2026,
  title = {in the hole},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/in%20the%20hole},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}