Definition

1. Noun:
   • An apartment without modern conveniences: Specifically, an apartment that lacks amenities such as central heating and/or a private bathroom with hot running water. The term often implies a basic, older, and less expensive living space.

Usage

• The term is used to describe a specific type of residential rental property, typically found in older urban buildings. It highlights the absence of standard modern utilities.

Examples

• Noun:
  • When he first moved to the city, he could only afford a cold-water flat in an old tenement building.
  • The cold-water flat had a shared bathroom in the hallway and only a small stove for heat.

Advanced Usage

• The phrase can be used figuratively to describe any austere, basic, or minimally comfortable living or working situation.
  • After the budget cuts, the new office felt like a cold-water flat compared to the old one.

Variants and Related Words

• Tenement: A multi-occupancy building, often old and run-down, which may contain cold-water flats.
• Walk-up: An apartment building without an elevator, a feature commonly associated with older buildings that may have cold-water flats.

Synonyms

• Spartan accommodation: Very basic and simple lodging, lacking comfort.
• Unheated apartment: An apartment without a built-in heating system.

Notes

• This is a compound noun. The core word being explained is the full phrase "cold-water flat." It is a fixed expression primarily used in American English. Its usage has declined as modern plumbing and heating have become nearly universal standards.

Noun

1. an apartment without modern conveniences