Meanings
plural middle aisles
- UKPart of a supermarket which sells a regularly-changing range of nongrocery products, such as tools, household appliances and clothing, at low prices.
We've all been there—standing in our shed, staring at a middle aisle drill we haven't touched in years, wondering why we bought it in the first place.
2025 February 20, Bernard O'Shea, “Five reasons why borrowing things is a great — and terrible — idea”, in Irish Examiner, archived from the original on 22 Feb 20252 more examples
Morrisons has launched its own middle aisle, reviving the “When it’s Gone it’s Gone” range. Rolled out to nearly all of its 497 UK stores by late 2025, it features rotating deals in wooden crates.
2026 January 29, Jimmy Grant, “Has Morrisons opened its own middle aisle to rival Aldi & Lidl?”, in The Sun, archived from the original on 30 Jan 2026The middle aisle thus functions as a commodified form of serendipity, where retailers deliberately cultivate unpredictability to re-enchant routine shopping.
2016 August 21, Daniela Spanjaard, Jessica Richards, and Lynne Freeman, “The aisle between: Grocery shopping as a liminal journey”, in Journal of Consumer CultureSynonyms: aisle of shame
Synonyms & antonyms
nounPart of a supermarket which sells a regularly-changing range of nongrocery products, such as tools, household appliances and clothing, at low prices.
Origin
Originates from the layouts of budget supermarkets Aldi and Lidl, in which part of a central aisle is dedicated to bargain home goods.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
middle aisle. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/middle%20aisle
“middle aisle.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/middle%20aisle. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “middle aisle,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/middle%20aisle.
Source: middle aisle on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.