ENGLISH
REFERENCE

crawl into a hole

idiom
Meaning

To hide or disappear due to feelings of extreme embarrassment, shame, or helplessness; to withdraw from reality.


Examples
SIMPLE

I felt so embarrassed that I wanted to crawl into a hole.

CONTEXTUAL

After tripping on stage in front of the whole school, he just wanted to crawl into a hole and disappear.

COMPLEX

Following the public failure of his long-term project, he felt such profound shame that he wished he could simply crawl into a hole and hide from the world.

Anchors to
Related idioms8entries
  1. 01

    ace in the hole

    Synonym of ace up one's sleeve.

  2. 02

    blow a hole through

    To destroy the integrity or cohesion of.

  3. 03

    burn a hole in someone's pocket

    To cause someone to spend money or be tempted to spend money.

  4. 04

    crawl before one walks

    To learn the basics before doing something at a more advanced level.

  5. 05

    crawl over each other

    To compete with others eagerly or fiercely in pursuit of the same goal(s).

  6. 06

    crawl with

    To include or be covered with swarms or large numbers of (something, especially insects or people); to have in great numbers or multitudes.

  7. 07

    dig a hole for oneself

    To take an action or create a situation from which it is difficult to extricate.

  8. 08

    dig oneself in a hole

    To put oneself in even more trouble.

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