skeleton key
a key that will open multiple doors
TRANSLATION
skeleton key = der Bartschlüssel, der Generalschlüssel --- GOOGLE INDEX skeleton key: approximately 2,500,000 Google hits
STATISTICS
IN THE PRESS
Police believe the meters were used to make a SKELETON KEY that would allow the thief to open and empty other meters within a matter of seconds without drawing attention to himself.
(The Observer & Eccentric)
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Before we can put all of our data on servers in the sky, we need some assurance that it will not be available to everyone with a rusty SKELETON KEY.
(tech.blorge technology news)
(The Observer & Eccentric)
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Before we can put all of our data on servers in the sky, we need some assurance that it will not be available to everyone with a rusty SKELETON KEY.
(tech.blorge technology news)
Did you
know?
skeleton key
noun phrase
- a key which will open several doors
(Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary)
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The classic skeleton key is designed to fit a warded lock, a construction which has been in use for approximately two thousand years. Warded locks are those opened with a long-stem cylindrical shaft with a single flat rectangular tooth.
Skeleton keys are a part of daily life for many people such as locksmiths or people who have homes or businesses with a number of locking doors or devices.
A skeleton key is filed down by criminals to pick a lock by avoiding the wards in a warded lock. They are so-called because they had been filed down to the "bare bones." An underworld slang term for a skeleton key is screw, which has led some to believe this is why convicts call prison guards "screws", although other there are other theories regarding the origin.
(adapted from wiseGEEK and The Big Site of Amazing Facts)
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SYNONYMS
passkey, master key
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SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"A locksmith may have a skeleton key to open that box."
noun phrase
- a key which will open several doors
(Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary)
---
The classic skeleton key is designed to fit a warded lock, a construction which has been in use for approximately two thousand years. Warded locks are those opened with a long-stem cylindrical shaft with a single flat rectangular tooth.
Skeleton keys are a part of daily life for many people such as locksmiths or people who have homes or businesses with a number of locking doors or devices.
A skeleton key is filed down by criminals to pick a lock by avoiding the wards in a warded lock. They are so-called because they had been filed down to the "bare bones." An underworld slang term for a skeleton key is screw, which has led some to believe this is why convicts call prison guards "screws", although other there are other theories regarding the origin.
(adapted from wiseGEEK and The Big Site of Amazing Facts)
---
SYNONYMS
passkey, master key
---
SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"A locksmith may have a skeleton key to open that box."
