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English Idioms About Crime

English Idioms About Crime

International English Test Editorial Team·27 Dec 2023·3 min read

Delve into the captivating realm where language meets crime with these compelling English idioms related to criminal activities.

If you enjoy detective books or TV shows, you’ll appreciate our compilation of 10 English idioms related to crime! You might have come across some of these expressions in movies or on television. If not, let’s explore this useful vocabulary together so that you can comprehend 80%—not just 50%—of discussions about crime and criminals in English. Let’s begin!

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To cook the books

Definition: To falsify information in a company’s financial records, presenting fraudulent financial reports.
Example: One of the directors had been cooking the books, and the company had been losing
money for years.

To pull a fast one

Meaning: to cheat someone
Example: He was trying to pull a fast one when he told you he’d paid.

Cat burglar

Definition: To deceive or defraud someone.
Example: He is a cat burglar, who only steals from apartments in high buildings.

Stool pigeon

Definition: A person, often a criminal or government operative, who clandestinely provides information about others to the police.
Example: I would have never thought he had been a stool pigeon for so many years.

Put behind bars

Definition: To incarcerate someone, symbolized by the notion of putting them behind prison bars.
Example: The bank robbers have been finally put behind bars.

Blow the whistle

Definition: To inform the police about a crime.
Example: The gangs were getting very bad. It was time to blow the whistle.

Go straight

Definition: To start adhering to the law, ceasing criminal activities.
Example: After Ben was arrested, he promised his mother he would go straight.

Do a runner

Definition: To escape without settling payment for a product or service.
Example: The teenagers did a runner when the cab stopped, leaving the driver with an unpaid bill.

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What English idioms related to crime are part of your vocabulary? Feel free to share them with us in the comments section.

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Frequently Asked Questions

To cook the books means to falsify a company's financial records and present fraudulent financial reports. It describes deliberate accounting dishonesty rather than an honest mistake. For example, you might say that one of the directors had been cooking the books, and the company had been losing money for years. The phrase is common in business and crime contexts when money is hidden or numbers are manipulated.
Both relate to reporting wrongdoing, but they differ in tone. To blow the whistle means to inform the police about a crime, often seen as the right thing to do. A stool pigeon is a person, frequently a criminal or government operative, who secretly passes information about others to the police. Stool pigeon carries a negative, betraying connotation, while blowing the whistle sounds more principled.
Put behind bars means to incarcerate someone, drawing on the image of placing them behind prison bars. It is usually used in the passive voice when describing the outcome of an arrest or trial. A natural example is that the bank robbers have been finally put behind bars. You can apply it to any criminal who ends up in jail after being caught.
Do a runner means to leave quickly without paying for a product or service, such as a meal or a taxi ride. It is informal British English and often describes dishonest or sudden escapes. For example, the teenagers did a runner when the cab stopped, leaving the driver with an unpaid bill. It can also describe simply fleeing a situation to avoid responsibility.
To go straight means to start obeying the law and stop committing crimes, usually said about someone with a criminal past. It signals a genuine decision to reform and live honestly. For instance, after Ben was arrested, he promised his mother he would go straight. The phrase contrasts a former life of crime with a new, law-abiding lifestyle.
No, they describe different things. A cat burglar is a thief known for stealth, often stealing from apartments in high buildings, climbing quietly like a cat. To pull a fast one means to cheat or deceive someone, as when a person claims he had paid when he had not. One refers to a type of stealing skill, while the other refers to an act of trickery.
International English Test

International English Test Editorial Team

ALTE Associate Member · UK English assessment provider · Est. 2023

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