Ginnel
In Manchester, a ginnel is a narrow passage between houses or buildings, typically the alley that runs behind or between rows of terraced houses. It is the word most Mancunians use for any cut-through too narrow for a car.
In practice
Manchester's Victorian terraces were built in long rows with back alleys for bins and deliveries, and gaps between blocks to let people through; both are ginnels in local speech. Many back ginnels are now gated for security, with keys held by residents. The same kind of passage has a different name in almost every English region - snicket in parts of Yorkshire, jitty in the Midlands, twitten in Sussex - and arguments about the right word are a reliable topic in any northern pub.
Why it matters to newcomers
"Cut through the ginnel" is an ordinary direction in residential Manchester, and estate agents mention gated ginnels as a plus. If you rent a terraced house, ask whether the back ginnel is gated and who has keys, since that is where bins go out.
Related
- Ancoats - one of the oldest districts of terraces and mills
- Mither - another word you will hear before you read it
- Cottonopolis - the industrial city that built the terraces
Source: Wiktionary: ginnel.