Johnson hole en · NOUN
Etymology
Named, for its size, after Jack Johnson (1878-1946), the world heavyweight boxing champion until 1915.
Meanings
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(historical, slang) A large shell crater during the First World War.
And to his immediate front, below the shelving ramp, a circular calm water graced the deep of a Johnson hole […]
1937, David Jones, In Parenthesis, Part 3A running joke is the supposed general who has fallen into a Johnson hole, and Bert's anxiety about whether he should ‘let him drift or fish 'im out’.
2005, Gordon Williams, British Theatre in the Great War, page 196:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Johnson holes | Number=Plur | lexicographic | |
| Jack Johnson hole | alternative | lexicographic |