(as) thick as thieves
Having a close, intimate friendship or alliance. Anna and Beth are together all the time these days—they're as thick as thieves. The guys who work in the warehouse are thick as thieves. They don't really socialize with anyone else in the company. I've had a hard time making friends at my new school. The other kids have been together since kindergarten and are all thick as thieves.
be (as) thick as thieves
To be very close friends. Anna and Beth are together all the time these days—they're as thick as thieves. The guys who work in the warehouse are thick as thieves. They don't really socialize with anyone else in the company. I've had a hard time making friends at my new school. The other kids have been together since kindergarten and are all thick as thieves.
den of thieves
1. A group of people engaged in or suspected of illegal, immoral, or underhanded activities. Our state's economy is never going to recover as long as we've got this den of thieves running the show. I'm not surprised to hear that the police raided that club again—it's run by a den of thieves! Listen, I don't want you involved with that den of thieves or any of their illegal activities.
2. A place in which such activities take place or are suspected. A: "I just heard that FlemCorp is being accused of embezzling nearly half a billion dollars!" B: "Are you surprised? Everyone knows that place is a den of thieves." That place has always been a den of thieves, so steer clear unless you want a criminal record. I thought we were just gonna play poker. I didn't know the place was a den of thieves on the verge of being busted!
it takes a thief to catch a thief
One who is skilled at or experienced in evading the law is better suited than anyone else to catch a fellow criminal. He's a bank robber, he can definitely help us catch these crooks—it takes a thief to catch a thief, you know. Of course you guys wouldn't think up something like this—you're cops. It takes a it takes a thief to catch a thief. Have you guys considered that maybe I could help you find this guy? It takes a thief to catch a thief, so why don't you let me out of this jail cell?
like a thief in the night
In a swift and secretive, stealthy, or surreptitious manner. The cancer spread through my lungs and into my bones like a thief in the night, giving me no chance of beating it.
Little thieves are hanged, but great ones escape.
proverb Those who commit small crimes will face the full consequences of the law, but those who commit crimes on a huge scale will go unpunished. So some guy who holds up a liquor store with a gun because his family can't afford food gets 30 years in prison, but a wealthy CEO who robs millions of people of their pensions gets a few months of community service? I tell you, little thieves are hanged, but great ones escape.
opportunity makes a thief
proverb Even those who are morally upright would steal if they were able to do it without getting caught. A: "I figured out a way to collect social welfare while still working." B: "I never thought someone like you would try to rip off the system like that. Opportunity makes a thief, I guess."
procrastination is the thief of time
proverb It is easy to waste, lose track of, and subsequently run out of time by putting off what one ought to be doing. I know you think two weeks is plenty of time to finish your essay, but you're better off getting to work on it now—procrastination is the thief of time, after all. A: "I'll start studying after I beat one more level in my video game." B: "Don't leave it too late—procrastination is the thief of time!"
set a thief to catch a thief
To employ a criminal or thief in order to understand, anticipate, and ultimately apprehend another criminal or thief. Honestly, who better to lead an investigation into tax fraud than someone who was convicted of just that? Set a thief to catch a thief, I say. We've actually begun employing prominent members of the hacking community to improve our cyber security, setting thieves to catch thieves, as it were.
there is honor among thieves
proverb Even criminals adhere to a code of conduct or certain principles, especially not to inform against one another. Often used in the negative. In the collective of pickpockets, no one dared steal from another. There is some honor among thieves. Given the chance, most criminals facing extensive jail time are more than willing to give up their associates for a more lenient sentence, disposing of the ridiculous notion that there is honor among thieves.
thief in the night
A person or thing that moves in a swift and secretive, stealthy, or surreptitious manner. The cancer spread through my lungs and into my bones like a thief in the night, giving me no chance of beating it.
time thief
A person or thing that distracts or takes time from more useful or productive activities. I'm trying to catch up on work after being out sick, but my inbox is such a time thief. I'll call my mom back later—she can be a real time thief, and I need to finish up this essay.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
Little thieves are hanged, but great ones escape.
Prov. Truly expert criminals are never caught. Everyone's making such a fuss because they convicted that bank robber, but he must not have been a very dangerous criminal. Little thieves are hanged, but great ones escape.
Opportunity makes a thief.
Prov. Anyone would steal, given a chance to do so without being punished. Mr. Cooper thought of himself as a moral man. But opportunity makes a thief, and with the safe unguarded he had the opportunity to steal thousands of dollars undetected.
Procrastination is the thief of time.
Prov. If you put off doing what you ought to do, you will end up not having enough time to do it properly. Jim: Have you started looking for a job yet? Jane: Oh, that can wait till tomorrow. Jim: Procrastination is the thief of time.
Set a thief to catch a thief.
Prov. The best person to catch a thief is another thief, because he or she knows how thieves think. The government set a thief to catch a thief, hiring a stockbroker convicted of fraudulent practices to entrap the stockbroker they were investigating for fraud.
There is honor among thieves.
Prov. Criminals do not commit crimes against each other. The gangster was loyal to his associates and did not tell their names to the police, demonstrating that there is honor among thieves.
*thick as thieves
Cliché very close-knit; friendly; allied. (Thick = close and loyal. *Also: as ~.) Mary, Tom, and Sally are as thick as thieves. They go everywhere together. Those two families are thick as thieves.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
den of thieves, a
A group of individuals or a place strongly suspected of underhanded dealings. This term appears in the Bible (Matthew 21:13) when Jesus, driving the moneychangers from the Temple, said, “My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.” Daniel Defoe used the term in Robinson Crusoe, published in 1719, and by the late eighteenth century it was well known enough to be listed with other collective terms such as “House of Commons” in William Cobbett’s English Grammar in a discussion of syntax relating to pronouns.
it takes one to know one
The critic is as bad as the person being criticized. This expression, a modern version of the proverbial “set a thief to catch a thief,” and “a thief knows a thief as well as a wolf knows a wolf,” dates from the early twentieth century.
thick as thieves
On intimate terms; very good friends. The use of thick for “intimate” survives mainly in this cliché, which no doubt owes its popularity to alliteration. It was already proverbial, according to Theodore E. Hook, in 1833 (The Parson’s Daughter): “She and my wife are as thick as thieves, as the proverb goes.”
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer