partner in crime
19
3.7
- noun
- /ˈpɑrtənər ɪn kraɪm/
- Informal
:
compinche
- I'm going to need a partner in crime.
- my partner in crime
And of course, the original, the greatest partner in crime, Ela Kleiner.
- And of course, the original, the greatest partner in crime, Ela Kleiner.
- Please welcome my partners in crime and life, Lucy Liu and Cameron Diaz.
- My colleague, my, my partner in crime and running VVP orange on the design side is Mark Willard.
- I thought who would be better than my two partners in crime, Miss Mora and Dean Welcoming.
- I'm going to say Helen, partly because she said me, but also because it's just brilliant having a partner in crime on this and I couldn't hope for a better one.
- So Betsy Dee, it was awesome being able to show off my buddy, my my partner in crime, my brother, many years and many years to come.
- She had a whole team and one member of her team, Tenjin Sherpa, was kind of her primary partner in crime on this.
- So I know I have the right partner in crime, if you will, when when I'm at work.
- I'm Yasmin Saadila and I'm here with my partner in crime and liberation, Llama Rod Owens.
Examples
-
She's my best friend, my partner in crime, my singing partner.
-
I'm Jane, your partner in crime.
-
- Are you with your partner in crime?
-
You were my first partner in crime.
-
So with the right partner in crime, you can put on quite a show.
-
And I kind of need somebody to help me out, like, you know, my partner in crime.
-
Kate was still my partner in crime.
Fiction book (1995) -
I figured, who better to go with than my lifelong neighbor... Best buddy and partner in crime?
-
My name is Cotton McKnight and with me, as always, is my partner in crime, Pepper Brooks.
-
My sister is my partner in crime; we always have so much fun together.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
A close friend you spend time with
172
6.7
Person who helps another person commit a crime
108
3.7
A close friend who helps and stays with someone, especially a hero
7
7.6
A person who works with others, often secretly, to help do something illegal
3
5.6
A person who helps someone secretly, often in a crime
Antonyms
How Close
Surface Forms
Morphology
The sense is partly derivable: 'partner' = companion and 'in crime' suggests involvement in wrongdoing, so a learner can infer a companion in mischief or as an accomplice. However, the phrase is often used humorously to mean a close friend for harmless adventures rather than literal criminality, and that pragmatic/idiomatic nuance may not be fully predictable for a B1 learner.
Etymology
Partner in crime comes from the old idea of a partner who helped in a crime. Today people use it jokingly for a close friend who joins you in 'fun or naughty' things, so that's why it means 'a close friend who helps you get into mischief'.