Ginnel

A ginnel is a word in various Scottish and northern English dialects[1] describing a fenced or walled alley between residential buildings that provides a pedestrian shortcut to nearby streets.

[2] Ginnels are typically found in suburban areas, and do not contain any business premises, unlike some other types of alley.

[3] Suburban streets in Sydney, Australia similarly feature "cut-throughs", which are fenced or walled passages found between residential lots that grant pedestrians easy access to nearby facilities situated on other roads.

[6] In 1744, pharmacist Arthur Jessop wrote a subpoena that mentioned Joseph Eastwood's wife in the "Ginnil" in the Low at Holmfirth in the West Riding of Yorkshire.

[3] The Oxford English Dictionary states that its etymology is vague, though it compares the word to 'channel' (including being a corruption of it),[3] and says it is 'a long, narrow passage between houses, either roofed or unroofed'.