case the joint

case the joint

slang

1. To observe a place in order to familiarize oneself with its workings in preparation for some criminal activity (often robbery). Judging from the security footage, those men cased the joint hours before robbing it. A: "What's that guy doing back here again?" B: "Relax, he's not casing the joint—he works down the street and comes in to say hi sometimes." If we want to have any hope of pulling off this heist, we have to case the joint thoroughly beforehand.

2. By extension, to thoroughly examine a place. In this usage, no devious motive is implied. As soon as my kids walking into the hotel room, they started casing the joint, exclaiming about everything from the TV to the mini-fridge. We have to tidy up every inch of this place because my Mom will case the joint when she gets here. I guess I did case the joint, but I wanted to see what a million dollars buys in this part of the city. Apparently, not much!

See also: case, joint

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

case the joint

 

1. Sl. to look over some place to figure out how to break in, what to steal, etc. (Underworld.) First of all you gotta case the joint to see where things are. You could see he was casing the joint the way he hung around.

2. Sl. to look a place over. The dog came in and cased the joint, sniffing out friends and foes. The old lady entered slowly, casing the joint for someone of her own age, and finally took a seat.

See also: case, joint

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

case the joint

reconnoitre a place before carrying out a robbery. informal

See also: case, joint

Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017

case the ˈjoint

(informal) look carefully around a building so that you can plan how to steal things from it at a later time: I saw two men here earlier. Do you think they were casing the joint?

See also: case, joint

Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017

case the joint

1. tv. to look over some place to figure out how to break in, what to steal, etc. (see also joint.) First of all you gotta case the joint to see where things are.

2. tv. to look a place over. (No criminal intent. From sense 1) The dog came in and cased the joint, sniffing out friends and foes.

See also: case, joint

McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.