Fire in the hole is a warning that an explosion is about to occur. The phrase fire in the hole originated in the American coal mines where miners used dynamite to loosen the rock. Dynamite was detonated in small spaces, and miners used the warning fire in the hole to alert their fellow workers to take cover. In fact, mining regulations call for the warning fire in the hole to be verbalized three times before ignition. Today, the military has adopted the term to warn of an impending explosion of ordnance, and NASA uses fire in the hole when talking about igniting multi-stage rockets. Fire in the hole is sometimes used in a slang fashion, to mean watch out.





Fire in the hold is a misunderstanding of the phrase fire in the hole.




