General
ess'ole
What does ess'ole mean?
The ash pit beneath an old coal-fire grate. By extension, the fireplace itself. Common in the back-to-backs of industrial Birmingham and the Black Country, where everyone had a coal range and someone had to rake the ess'ole out every morning.
"Empty the ess'ole afore yer light the fire."
Origin
Contraction of 'ash hole'. When every house had a coal fire, the ess'ole was the bit underneath that caught the cinders. The word outlived the fireplaces.
Frequently asked questions
What does ess'ole mean?
The ess'ole is the ash-hole — the pit beneath the grate where coal ash falls in a fireplace or stove.
How do you use ess'ole in a sentence?
"Rake the cinders down and empty the ess'ole before you lay a fresh fire."
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