diff --git a/src/cfg/cfg.jl b/src/cfg/cfg.jl
index c544094..675ebf5 100644
--- a/src/cfg/cfg.jl
+++ b/src/cfg/cfg.jl
@@ -117,14 +117,39 @@ end
 parse_rule!(v::Vector{Any}, r) = push!(v, r)
 
 function parse_rule!(v::Vector{Any}, ex::Expr)
-	if ex.head == :call && ex.args[1] == :|
-		terms = length(ex.args) == 2 ?
-		collect(eval(ex.args[2])) :    #|(a:c) case
-		ex.args[2:end]                 #a|b|c case
-		for t in terms
-			parse_rule!(v, t)
+    # Strips `LineNumberNode`s from the expression
+    Base.remove_linenums!(ex)
+
+    if ex.head == :call && ex.args[1] == :|	
+        terms = _expand_shorthand(ex.args)
+
+        for t in terms
+            parse_rule!(v, t)
+        end
+    else
+        push!(v, ex)
+    end
+end
+
+function _expand_shorthand(args::Vector{Any})
+	# expand a rule using the `|` symbol:
+	# `X = |(1:3)`, `X = 1|2|3`, `X = |([1,2,3])`
+	# these should all be equivalent and should expand to
+	# the following 3 rules: `X = 1`, `X = 2`, and `X = 3`
+	if args[1] != :|
+		throw(ArgumentError("Tried to parse: $ex as a shorthand rule, but it is not a shorthand rule."))
+	end
+
+	if length(args) == 2
+		to_expand = args[2]
+		if to_expand.args[1] == :(:)
+			expanded = collect(to_expand.args[2]:to_expand.args[3])	# (1:3) case
+		else
+			expanded = to_expand.args								# ([1,2,3]) case
 		end
+	elseif length(args) == 3
+		expanded = args[2:end]										# 1|2|3 case
 	else
-		push!(v, ex)
+		throw(ArgumentError("Failed to parse shorthand for rule: $ex"))
 	end
 end
diff --git a/src/nodelocation.jl b/src/nodelocation.jl
index 28d162b..801c036 100644
--- a/src/nodelocation.jl
+++ b/src/nodelocation.jl
@@ -43,4 +43,4 @@ function Base.insert!(root::RuleNode, loc::NodeLoc, rulenode::RuleNode)
 		root.children = rulenode.children
 	end
 	return root
-end
\ No newline at end of file
+end
diff --git a/src/rulenode_operators.jl b/src/rulenode_operators.jl
index 7203b09..5c8cc14 100644
--- a/src/rulenode_operators.jl
+++ b/src/rulenode_operators.jl
@@ -187,12 +187,23 @@ function rulenode2expr(rulenode::RuleNode, grammar::Grammar)
 end
 
 
+function _rulenode2expr(rulenode::Hole, grammar::Grammar)
+    # Find the index of the first element that is true
+    index = findfirst(==(true), rulenode.domain)
+    return isnothing(index) ? :Nothing : grammar.types[index]
+end
+rulenode2expr(rulenode::Hole, grammar::Grammar) = _rulenode2expr(rulenode::Hole, grammar::Grammar)
+
 function _rulenode2expr(expr::Expr, rulenode::RuleNode, grammar::Grammar, j=0)
 	for (k,arg) in enumerate(expr.args)
 		if isa(arg, Expr)
 			expr.args[k],j = _rulenode2expr(arg, rulenode, grammar, j)
 		elseif haskey(grammar.bytype, arg)
 			child = rulenode.children[j+=1]
+			if isa(child, Hole)
+        		expr.args[k] = _rulenode2expr(child, grammar)
+				continue
+			end
 			expr.args[k] = (child._val !== nothing) ?
 				child._val : deepcopy(grammar.rules[child.ind])
 			if !isterminal(grammar, child)