cat burglar
8
7.1
- noun
- /ˈkæt ˈbɜrɡlər/
:
ladrón escalador
- After years of practice, he became a notorious cat burglar, slipping through rooftops without anyone noticing.
- catch the cat burglar
- great cat burglar
- World's greatest cat burglar
So George Chatham was the greatest cat burglar arguably ever.
- So George Chatham was the greatest cat burglar arguably ever.
Examples
-
You're one of the great cat burglars of the world.
-
He slipped under the covers beside his wife, as deft now as any cat burglar could hope.
Fiction book (1992) -
A lone cat burglar got in last night.
-
Well, if that doesn't work out, I can always become a cat burglar.
-
You guys still might be the fairest cat burglars of them all.
Fiction book (1991) -
Let me ask you a question: do you still think you're the greatest cat burglar who ever lived?
Fiction book (1991) -
I've seen thieves at work, cat burglars they call them because they are nearly as clever as cats.
-
I'm a cat burglar.
-
"I'll tell you something: movies romanticize cat burglars, but real cat burglars are cracked," Lucas said.
Fiction book (1994) -
As he slid back silently from underneath the bed and continued at the wooden night table, pulling out a small, empty drawer and probing it with the stealth of a cat burglar, he felt a quiet, businesslike ecstasy.
Fiction book (1995)
Synonyms
110
1.4
A person who enters a building without permission to steal things
1
9.9
A person who breaks into places like banks to steal from safes
1
7.6
A person who enters a house without permission to steal things
Surface Forms
Morphology
The compound combines 'cat' (suggesting stealth and agility) with 'burglar' (a thief), so the meaning 'a stealthy, agile thief who enters by climbing' is directly inferable from the constituents. This animal-based metaphor is transparent and commonly used cross-linguistically, so a B1 learner who knows both words would likely understand the phrase.
Etymology
The noun cat burglar probably comes from the idea of a silent burglar who is like a cat: like cats, they climb walls or roofs, slip through upper windows and make no sound. That's why it means 'a thief who enters buildings by climbing and moves very quietly'.