area sneak

English

Noun

area sneak (plural area sneaks)

  1. (rare, obsolete) The practice of breaking into the lower floors of a house via its area to commit theft. [19th c.]
  2. (now rare, historical) A thief who steals in this way. [from 19th c.]
    • 1874, Marcus Clarke, For the Term of his Natural Life, Penguin, published 2009, page 52:
      Old men, young men, and boys, stalwart burglars and highway robbers, slept side by side with wizened pickpockets or cunning-featured area-sneaks.

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