alley

noun11

1. •
   a small street, not much wider than a path, that runs along the backs of buildings

   • The parking lot to my friend's apartment building is in the alley.
2. •
   A walk or passage in a garden or park, bordered by rows of trees or bushes.

   • I know each lane and every alley green. — 1634
3. •
   A passageway between rows of pews in a church.
4. •
   The space between two rows of compositors' stands in a printing office.
5. •
   An establishment where bowling is played.
6. •
   An elongated wooden strip of floor along which a bowling ball is rolled.
7. •
   The area between the outfielders.

   • He hit one deep into the alley.
8. •
   The extra area between the sidelines or tramlines on a tennis court that is used for doubles matches.
9. •
   A marble (small ball used in games).
10. •
    Any passage having the entrance represented as wider than the exit, so as to give the appearance of length.
11. •
    (informal, rare) A group of clowns; the collective noun for clowns.

    • […] alley of clowns had sprung like a fungus growth from the dung heap of the First World War. — 2017