sneak thief
2
7.6
- noun
- /sniːk θiːf/
:
ladrón sigiloso
- While I was in the store, a sneak thief quietly took my wallet from the cart.
- a little sneak thief
Examples
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There must be a sneak thief around here.
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- You're nothing but a sneak thief.
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Leave her alone, the little sneak thief?
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Nothing but common sneak thieves.
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JONATHAN: We caught a burglar, a sneak thief.
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Those little sneak-thieves will be swarming out of every hole in Korea.
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This boy, Bruce Bogtrotter, is a vicious sneak thief.
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A bag-snatching, purse-pilfering, wallet-lifting sneak thief!
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A petty sneak thief, who, in the end, found larceny less burdensome than matrimony.
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The shopkeeper noticed a sneak thief trying to grab some merchandise without anyone seeing.
Synonyms
754
1.0
A person who takes someone else's things without permission
19
4.2
A person who steals wallets or phones from pockets and bags in crowds
18
3.1
A person who steals things from a shop while pretending to be a customer
5
9.9
A person who often steals small things
4
4.6
A person who takes things that belong to others without permission
1
9.9
A person who steals money from people's pockets or purses in public places
1
9.2
A person who steals things
1
7.3
A person who steals small things without using force
1
8.8
A person who steals goods from shops by hiding them
1
7.9
A person who steals goods from a shop by hiding them
A thief who steals quietly without using violence
A person who steals things secretly
A person who steals money and small things from other people's pockets or bags
A person who steals things from people's pockets
A person who illegally takes other people's things
How Stealthy
Surface Forms
Morphology
The compound directly combines 'sneak' (secretive, furtive) with 'thief' (someone who steals), so the meaning 'a thief who steals furtively and without violence' is transparently derivable from its parts. This noun–noun compounding pattern is common and cross-linguistically recognizable, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would readily understand the MWE.
Etymology
Sneak thief comes from the image of someone who quietly moves close, a sneak, and takes things without fighting, a thief. That's why it means 'a thief who steals without using violence'.