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alley

 
Dictionary: al·ley1   (ăl'ē) pronunciation
n., pl., -leys.
  1. A narrow street or passageway between or behind city buildings.
  2. A path between flower beds or trees in a garden or park.
  3. Sports.
    1. A straight narrow course or track, especially a bowling alley.
    2. Either of the parallel lanes at the sides of a tennis court, which widen the inbounds area for doubles play.
idiom:

up (one's) alley Informal.

  1. Compatible with one's interests or qualifications: an assignment that is right up your alley.

[Middle English alei, from Old French alee, from aler, to walk, from Latin ambulāre. See ambulate.]


al·ley2 (ăl'ē) pronunciation
n. Games, pl., -leys.
A large playing marble, often used as the shooter.

[Short for ALABASTER.]


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A path between buildings or behind a building, often used for deliveries or garbage collection.
Example: An alley behind a shopping center was used to deliver inventory through a rear door of each tenant, so as not to disturb customers.

Idioms: alley
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Idioms beginning with alley:
alley cat

In addition to the idiom beginning with alley, also see blind alley; right up one's alley.


Architecture: alley
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1. A service way providing a secondary public means of access to abutting properties; a narrow passageway between or behind buildings, sometimes permitting traffic for only one lane of cars.
2. A garden walk between rows of trees; an allée.


An area in a cow barn identified by its particular purpose such as a loafing alley, a walking alley or feeding alley.

Word Tutor: alley
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pronunciation

IN BRIEF: n. - A narrow street with walls on both sides; A lane down which a bowling ball is rolled toward pins.

pronunciation The pen may be stronger than the sword . . . but I'd rather have a sword in a dark alley. — Andrew Warnick

Tutor's tip: It can be difficult to "allay" (calm or relieve) your fears when you're walking alone in a dark "alley" (narrow outdoor passageway).

Dream Symbol: Alley
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An alleyway may simply be one form of the symbol of the path, which indicates seeking, transformation, and the transition from one stage of life to another. Alleys have certain other connotations, however, such as that of a shortcut, a sidetrack, or a dead end. Alleys also convey a sense of being narrow and limited, therefore requiring that they be followed closely. In contemporary society, alleyways often have sinister connotations as a location where one might be attacked. As with all dream symbols, the tone and setting of the dream determine which meaning is indicated.


Wikipedia: Alley
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Mårten Trotzigs Gränd, 90 cm wide, the narrowest alley in Gamla stan, Stockholm.

An alley or alleyway is a narrow, pedestrian lane found in urban areas which usually runs between or behind buildings. In older cities and towns in Europe, alleys are often what is left of a medieval street network, or a right of way or ancient footpath in an urban setting. In older urban development, alleys were built to allow for deliveries such as coal to the rear of houses. Alleys may be paved, or simply dirt tracks. A blind alley has no outlet at one end and is thus a cul-de-sac.

Contents

Modern planning

Many modern urban developments do not incorporate alleys. In some locations installation of gates to restrict alleyway access have significantly reduced burglary rates.[citation needed] On blocks where gates are not installed, residents sometimes erect home-made barricades at alley entrances.

Andrés Duany, American architect and urban planner has long espoused the use of alleys as leading to a better integration of automobile and foot traffic in a neighborhood.

In some modern urban developments, a service road may be built to allow for waste collection, or rear access for fire engines and parking.

United States

In the United States alleys exist in both older commercial and residential areas, for both service purposes and automobile access. In residential areas, primarily those built before 1950, alleys provide rear access to property where a garage was located, or where waste could be collected by service vehicles. A benefit of this was the location of these activities to the rear, less public side of a dwelling. Such alleys are typically roughly paved, but some may be dirt. By 1950 they had largely disappeared from development plans for new homes.

Alley in downtown Washington, D.C.

Chicago, Illinois has about 1,900 miles (3,100 km) of alleyways making it the largest network of alleyways in the world.[1] In 2007, the Chicago Department of Transportation started converting conventional alleys which were made out of asphalt, into so called Green Alleys. This program, called the Green Alley Program, is supposed to enable easier water runoff, as the alleyways in Chicago are not connected to the sewer system. With this program, the water will be able to seep through semipermeable concrete or asphalt in which a colony of fungi and bacteria will establish itself. The bacteria will help breakup oils before the water is absorbed into the ground. The lighter color of the pavement will also reflect more light, making the area next to the alley cooler.[2]

Other terms

Activities

Reduced usage of alleys can result in their decline. Under use, poor maintenance, poor night time illumination and narrow width may contribute to an increase in anti-social or illegal activities.

Use by automobiles

Many alleys, particularly 19th century ones, are wide enough to support automobile traffic. Such alleys are used in residential areas to gain access to garages that were built behind houses after the rise of the automobile. Others can be found in older industrial areas. Because alleys are narrow and often have only enough room for one vehicle to pass at a time, many alleys are one-way only. An alley serving the main entrance of residential, commercial, or industrial buildings, or carrying significant traffic, may be given a separate street name.

Other languages

"Alley" is of French origin, meaning "a way to go", and has been adapted in English as above. It is also used in parts of Europe such as Germany, Croatia and Serbia as a name for a boulevard, an avenue or a parkway (such as Karl-Marx-Allee in Berlin and Bologna Alley in Zagreb). The Swedish word "allé" refers to any type of road lined with trees.

See also

References

  1. ^ Link text, Using alleys to fight heat, water runoff, Chicago Suntimes.
  2. ^ Conscious Choice
  3. ^ 'Putting SY on the wordmap', BBC, 22 August 2005

Translations: Alley
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Dansk (Danish)
1.
n. - gyde, smøge, stræde

idioms:

  • (right) up someone's alley    lige noget for nogen, lige i nogens smag
  • alley cat    vild kat, baggårdskat

2.
n. - alle, sti

Nederlands (Dutch)
steeg, pad, (kegel-/ bowling)baan, strook aan zijkant van tennisveld (dubbelspel) (helemaal) naar iemands zin, geknipt voor iemand

Français (French)
1.
n. - ruelle, allée, (US) passage (entre les comptoirs), (US) couloir (sur un court de tennis)

idioms:

  • alley cat    chat de gouttière, à droite et à gauche
  • up someone's alley    (fig) (être) tout à fait son rayon (fam)

2.
n. - billes (en albâtre ou en verre)

Deutsch (German)
1.
n. - schmaler Durchgang, Gasse, Gang, Spielbahn

idioms:

  • alley cat    herrenlose Katze, (Slang) Lumpenkerl
  • up someone's alley    zu jdm. Interessenbereich gehörend

2.
n. - bes. schöne, bunte (Glas)murmel

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - αλέα, δρομάκι κήπου, δρομάκι, σοκάκι

idioms:

  • (right) up someone's alley    μέσα στα ενδιαφέροντά μου
  • alley cat    κεραμιδόγατος

Italiano (Italian)
vicolo

idioms:

  • alley cat    gatto randagio
  • right up my alley    la mia specialità

Português (Portuguese)
n. - beco, rua estreita

idioms:

  • alley cat    gato (m) de rua
  • blind alley    beco sem saída
  • right up my alley    no meu espaço

Русский (Russian)
пешеходная дорожка между домами или позади них для пешеходов

idioms:

  • alley cat    уличный кот
  • blind alley    тупик
  • right up my alley    как раз для меня

Español (Spanish)
1.
n. - callejón, callejuela, pasadizo

idioms:

  • alley cat    gato callejero, corriente, persona sexualmente promiscua
  • up someone's alley    el campo o especialización de alguien

2.
n. - callejón, callejuela, pasadizo

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - gränd

中文(简体)(Chinese (Simplified))
1. 小路, 小径, 巷

idioms:

  • (right) up someone's alley    合某人胃口的, 为某人所喜爱的
  • alley cat    野猫, 荡妇

2. 后街, 球道

中文(繁體)(Chinese (Traditional))
1.
n. - 小路, 小徑, 巷

idioms:

  • (right) up someone's alley    合某人胃口的, 為某人所喜愛的
  • alley cat    野貓, 蕩婦

2.
n. - 後街, 球道

한국어 (Korean)
1.
n. - 오솔길, 골목길

2.
n. - 공깃돌

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 路地, 横町, 小道, レーン, ボーリング場

idioms:

  • alley cat    野良猫, 雑種の飼い猫

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) زقاق, ممشى على مرامه‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮סמטה, משעול‬
n. - ‮כדור שיש‬


 
 
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boulevard
alleyway
Aley (family name)

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Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Real Estate Dictionary. Dictionary of Real Estate Terms. Copyright © 2004 by Barron's Educational Series, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Idioms. The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Architecture. McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Architecture and Construction. Copyright © 2003 by McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Veterinary Dictionary. Saunders Comprehensive Veterinary Dictionary 3rd Edition. Copyright © 2007 by D.C. Blood, V.P. Studdert and C.C. Gay, Elsevier. All rights reserved.  Read more
Word Tutor. Copyright © 2004-present by eSpindle Learning, a 501(c) nonprofit organization. All rights reserved.
eSpindle provides personalized spelling and vocabulary tutoring online; free trial Read more
Dream Symbol. The Dreams Encyclopedia. 1995 ©Visible Ink Press. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Alley" Read more
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