jemmy
/ˈdʒɛmi
/(also jimmy /ˈdʒɪmi/)
noun (plural jemmies)
A short crowbar used by a burglar to force open a window or door.We armed ourselves with axes, crowbars, jemmies, metal poles, sledge hammers, a quart of paraffin and box of matches....
- He then forced the latch of the window open using a jimmy.
- A tool, perhaps a jemmy, was used to open a rear door, but the thieves failed to get inside the car.
verb (jemmies, jemmying, jemmied) [with object] informal
Force open (a window or door) with a jemmy: a burglar jemmied his patio doors...
- A front door was jemmied open and thieves stole jewellery, a mobile phone, DVDs and a PlayStation 2 console worth a total of £2,000.
- The burglar had jemmied the window of the rear bedroom out of its frame, breaking the window catches in the process.
- Anyway, by climbing up the cherry tree, swinging across to the balcony and jemmying the window, we soon found that getting in through the bathroom was a doddle.
Origin
Early 19th century: pet form of the given name James (compare with jack1).