church key
1
8.7
- noun
- /ˈtʃɜːrʧ kiː/
- Archaic
:
abrebotellas
- I found a church-key opener on the windowsill.
- used a church key
Examples
-
I reached into our old black fridge and got out a bottled Coke and used the church key hanging on the side of the desk to open it.
Fiction book (1992) -
I found a church key in the drawer, perfect for opening my canned drinks.
-
Give me the church key.
-
"Why is this thing I open beers with called a church key?"
Fiction book (1995) -
He used the church key to pry off the cap.
Fiction book (1992) -
He felt around in the glove compartment and found a church key.
Fiction book (1990) -
"Bedad, you're a thoughtful wee Fenian, you are," he said with a grin, as I popped open a bottle with a church key.
Fiction book (2000) -
He used the church key to pop two holes in the can before pouring the soda.
-
When we had our picnic, I brought a church key to open all the soda cans.
Synonyms
61
1.3
A tool used to take the cap or lid off things like bottles
18
1.0
A tool that opens metal cans by cutting the lid
1
1.3
A tool for opening metal cans
How Easy
- US
18
1.0
- Archaic
1
8.7
Surface Forms
Morphology
church + key
Although 'key' evokes the idea of opening, the compound 'church key' refers specifically to a can opener and there is no transparent link between 'church' and the act of opening cans; the historical/analogical origin (tool resembling a large key) is not obvious to learners. A B1 learner who knows 'church' and 'key' would not reliably infer 'can opener' without prior exposure, so the expression functions as an idiom.
Etymology
Church key comes from one popular story: the small bottle-and-can opener looks like an old metal key that once opened church doors, so people joked it 'opened' drinks. That's why church key now means the small tool bartenders use to make a hole in a can or open a bottle.