Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
to case the joint

to case the joint

3 9.9
To look at a place to plan a robbery
  • phrasal verb
  • /keɪs ðə dʒɔɪnt/
  • NSFW
translation icon : reconocer el lugar
  • Before planning their heist, the gang members needed to case the joint and observe the guards' routines.

Examples

  • Now, where and when exactly am I?" Smedley Faversham cased the joint.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • Give me time to case the joint.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • " I'm casing the joint.

    Fiction book (1995)

  • He's like always casing the joint.

    Fiction book (1995)

  • "We cased the joint," Achatz says.

    Blog text (15)

  • Mentally casing the joint, Hawk gets some distance between him and the flunkies as he enters a room that has a glorious, ancient map of the world mural.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • Mentally casing the joint, Hawk gets some distance between him and the flunkies as he enters a room that has a glorious, ancient map of the world mural.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • In preparation for the robbery, the thieves decided to case the joint at night to avoid being noticed.

  • He spent the entire afternoon casing the joint, looking for the best way to get in without alerting anyone.

Synonyms

to case
vsto case the joint
  • NSFW
27 8.8

To watch a place secretly to plan a robbery

has identical meaning but appears as a multiword informal phrase

Antonyms

to ignore
∞ 1.0

Choose not to pay attention to someone or something

to leave alone
∞ 2.3

To avoid touching and disturbing a person, animal or object

How Thorough

to case the joint
  • NSFW
3 9.9
to take a look
∞ 1.3
to peek
119 1.1

Surface Forms

case the joint infinitive
cased the joint past
cased the joint past participle
casing the joint present participle
cases the joint third person singular

Morphology

case + the + joint

The meaning is a straightforward combination of 'case' (to look over or plan a robbery) and 'joint' (an informal bar/club), forming a normal verb + object construction. There is no significant metaphorical shift or idiomatic meaning beyond the constituents, so a B1 learner who knows those words would be able to infer the MWE's sense.

Etymology

Case the joint comes from thieves quietly watching a building before a robbery; to case means to check every door, window and guard, and the joint is the place they want to steal from. So, case the joint means 'to inspect a place' to plan a crime.