Snickelways

The Snickelways of York, often misspelt Snickleways, are a collection of small streets and footpaths in the city of York, England. The word Snickelway was coined by local author Mark W. Jones in 1983 in his book A Walk Around the Snickelways of York, and is a portmanteau of the words snicket, meaning a passageway between walls or fences, ginnel, a narrow passageway between or through buildings, and alleyway, a narrow street or lane. Although the word is a neologism, it quickly became part of the local vocabulary, and has even been used in official council documents, for example when giving notice of temporary footpath closures.


Or, the snickelways are a quick ways from A to B, mostly avoided by tourists. I had a boyfriend when I was a student who had a bit of a thing about snickleways...

This one is the delightfully named Finkle Street. "Finkle" either means a crook, like a crook in an elbow or a dog's leg, or a fiddle, like a con or a bad bargain. Depending who is telling what tale.