What it means
A narrow alleyway or passageway between buildings, the kind you cut through to save five minutes on the walk home. Yorkshire is full of them and fiercely protective of the word. Other regions say snicket, jitty, or alleyway, but in Yorkshire it is a ginnel and that is the end of the discussion. Often involves bins, puddles, and questionable lighting.
Usage examples
"Take the ginnel between the bakery and the bookies, saves you going all the way round. Watch the puddle halfway through, it has been there since 1987."
"Cut through the ginnel by the chippy and you'll come out right by the station."
"The bins all live down the ginnel, mind the puddles when it's been raining."
Editors of this term
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