Fire in the hole

"Fire in the hole" is a standard warning, used in many countries in the world, indicating that an explosive detonation in a confined space is imminent. It originated with miners, who needed to warn their fellows that a charge had been set.

The phrase was subsequently adopted by the United States Army and Marines to give notice that a grenade or satchel charge was being tossed into a bunker, spider hole, or other enclosure. It is not used for all explosions — throwing a grenade in the open is not announced, for example — only those surprisingly close.

Thence, through action movies, it became a publicly-used catch phrase, serving as a generic warning that something startling is about to occur. It is also used in the online shooter video game Counter-Strike; playing characters shout the phrase automatically whenever a grenade is thrown.

It serves as the title of a Steely Dan song (appearing on Can't Buy A Thrill) and Van Halen song (appearing on Van Halen III).

The phrase is frequently used in Mythbusters.

It also can be used as a name for a prank played at fast food drive-throughs in which a drink, after being ordered and paid for at the window, is thrown back into the restaurant by the driver, who then proceeds to make a quick getaway.

It is also used in the construction and contracting trade, for example when discharging a nail or rivet gun indoors.

It is also used to serve as a warning to someone taking a shower or bath that the water temperature is about to rise suddenly because a toilet is about to get flushed.

Recently, the phrase has been expanded to describe a variation of a popular breakfast known as "toad in the hole". Typically, hot chili sauce is poured into a hole in the bread, just prior to cracking an egg into it. In such cases, sauces derived from habanero peppers are most commonly used, for the cinnamon flavours that become evident once they are fried. This ingredient makes the resulting breakfast reminiscent of french toast. Other variants include chipotle based chili sauces, although it has been contended that the (now discontinued) hot sauce, known as Blair's Smokin Hot Pot, yields a more desirable result. This particular usage of the phrase was first employed in Sydney, Australia.