What does it mean: "the hole in the wall"?

Question

Apart from cash-machines. Can someone explain this? I'm not an English-speaker.

Answer 1

"The hole in the wall" is a reference to several things including a inexpensive dinner, cash machine, a place in Wyoming used by outlaws, a nightclub in Texas, and other things as well.

The hole in the wall between the two houses was used by Pyramus and Thisbe to communicate since their parents would not be together.
http://www.britannica.com/ebc/article-9376197

The hole in the wall was a location in Wyoming used by outlaws as a hide out. It was used by people such as Jesse James, Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid.
http://www.willowcreekranch.com/hole.html

For additional information on what hole in the wall can refer to is at this site.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hole_In_The_Wall

I usually think about the place in Wyoming used by the Hole in the Wall Gang as a hide out.

Answer 2

I'm a native Californian. The term whole in the wall is the following . . .

Going to a favorite discovered or happened to stumble upon restaurant. Restaurant is usually on the smaller size, not fancy but very fun, friendly, eclectic atmosphere to it.Usually the local towns people know of it. The restaurant privately owned one of a kind restaurant.. Not uncommon for the owner / chef to come out to talk with you. Called a hole in the wall restaurant because from the street pretty much all you see is a single small door and maybe a window or two, it might easily be overlooked but once discovered is a place that's a favorite to go to time and time again.

A hole in the wall home is generally a tiny apartment, usually just a temporary place to live because you don't have a lot of money. But it is loved and favored by the person residing there. It's not necessarily a low income poor trashed type of place. A whole in the wall apartment is generally in a sort of low to mid area of town where you generally feel overall safe. A nice quaint small apartment.

Answer 3

hole in the wall
A small, modest, or obscure place, as in My new apartment is just a hole in the wall, or Believe it or not, that little hole in the wall is a great restaurant. This graphic term is often used disparagingly. [First half of 1800s]

Answer 4

in south east asia it means a small shop selling knick knacks located within a hole that fit one person with his array of goodies and usually at the corner or the back of a long row of building. and it fits in snugly in the wall and becomes a part of the scenery of the location. but its fast disappearing as the malls are changing our lives

Answer 5

Walls are like barriers that prevent us from crossing over to the other side. Since you mentioned a 'hole', I think it means that you are finding a way to get through. You are going beyond what you can expect. You will strive harder until that hole grows large enough for you to fit through.