pigeonhole
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈpɪdʒ(ɪ)nhəʊl/
ipa: /ˈpɪdʒənˌ(h)oʊl/
Forms: form: pigeonholes
form: pigeonholing
form: pigeonholed
form: pigeonholed
form: pigeon-hole
form: pigeon hole
Etymology: The noun is derived from pigeon + hole. The verb is derived from the noun.
Senses: examples: text: I had proposed to pigeon-hole the walls of the drawing-room for the reception of the dictionary material.
ref: 1879, J[ames] A[ugustus] H[enry] Murray, Address to the Philological Society; quoted in “Pigeon-hole, v.”, in James A[ugustus] H[enry] Murray [et al.], editors, A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles (Oxford English Dictionary), volumes VII (O–P), London: Clarendon Press, 1884–1928, →OCLC, page 847, column 1:
glosses: To construct pigeonholes (noun sense 1 or sense 3.1) in (a place); also, to subdivide (a place) into pigeonholes.
examples: text: I would rather have my ashes scattered over the soil, to help the growth of the grass and daisies; but still I should not murmur much at having them decently pigeon-holed in a Roman tomb.
ref: 1858 March 3 (date written), Nathaniel Hawthorne, “March 3rd, [1858]”, in Passages from the French and Italian Note-books of Nathaniel Hawthorne, volume I, London: Strahan & Co., […], published 1871, →OCLC, page 143:
glosses: To put (letters, papers, or other items) into pigeonholes or small compartments; also, to arrange or sort (items) by putting into pigeonholes.
glosses: To arrange (items) for future reference or use.
examples: text: [S]everal laws and regulations were enacted for the prevention of cholera, typhoid fever, dysentery, and diphtheria. These laws were not carried into effect: they were pigeon-holed.
ref: 1910, Angus Hamilton, Herbert H[enry] Austin, Masatake Terauchi, “Sanitation and Water Works”, in Korea: Its History, Its People, and Its Commerce (Oriental Series; XIII), Boston, Mass.; Tokyo: J. B. Millet Company, →OCLC, page 294:
text: This year, and in former years, politicians have set up that they were cheated, and have vociferously declared that they had the evidence. But no one prosecutes. No one swears out a warrant. The evidence is pigeonholed.
ref: 1917 November, “The Looking Glass: Election Laws in Southern California”, in W[illiam] E[dward] Burghardt Du Bois, editor, The Crisis: A Record of the Darker Races, volume 15, number 1 (number 85 overall), New York, N.Y.: National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 29, column 2:
text: "Putting the prophet Hosea to one side for the moment and temporarily pigeon-holing the children of Adullam," interrupted Myrtle, "what are we going to do about this?"
ref: 1937 July, P[elham] G[renville] Wodehouse, “Anslem Gets His Chance”, in Eggs, Beans and Crumpets, London: Herbert Jenkins […], published 26 April 1940, →OCLC, page 154:
text: The Select Committee's recommendation that those which the railways are required to provide on grounds of national interest or social needs should be subsidised by the state has obviously been pigeon-holed.
ref: 1961 February, “Talking of Trains: The White Paper”, in Trains Illustrated, London: Ian Allan Publishing, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 65:
text: A committee chairperson will typically send the bill on to a subcommittee. […] Alternatively, the chairperson may decide to put the bill aside and ignore it. Most bills that are pigeonholed in this manner receive no further action.
ref: 2004, Edward Sidlow, Beth Henschen, America at Odds, 4th edition, Belmont, Calif.: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning, →ISBN, page 260:
synonyms: mothball
table
glosses: To put aside (advice, a proposal, or other matter) for future consideration instead of acting on it immediately; to shelve.
examples: text: Fred was tired of being pigeonholed as a computer geek.
text: He prided himself on his largeness when he granted that there were three kinds of women […] Not that he pigeon-holed Frona according to his inherited definitions. He refused to classify her at all. He did not dare.
ref: 1902 October, Jack London, chapter VII, in A Daughter of the Snows, Philadelphia, Pa.: J[oshua] B[allinger] Lippincott Company, →OCLC, page 74:
text: I'm not gonna be able, to top on My Name Is / And pigeonholed into some poppy sensation
ref: 1998–2000 (date recorded), Marshall Mathers, “The Way I Am”, in The Marshall Mathers LP, performed by Eminem, Santa Monica, Calif.: Aftermath Entertainment/Interscope Records, published 23 May 2000, →OCLC:
text: The singer, real name Emma Grankvist, deals in whip-smart lyrics and striking melodies that offer a refreshing perspective on the world around her, all wrapped up in a package that's brilliantly tough to pigeonhole.
ref: 2023 June 28, Nick Reilly, “Meet eee gee, the Singer who Refuses to Put Her Music in One Box”, in Rolling Stone, New York, N.Y.: Penske Media Corporation, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 16 Jul 2024:
synonyms: cubbyhole
put someone in a box
glosses: To place (someone or something) into a notional category or class, especially in a way which makes unjustified assumptions or which is restrictive; to categorize, to classify, to label.
Derived terms: english: Oxbridge slang
translation: Oxbridge slang
word: pidge
word: pigeonholeable
word: pigeonholed
word: pigeonholer
word: pigeonholing