Meaning of second-story man | Babel Free

Definitions

A burglar, especially one who performs a legitimate service at a residence and returns later to perform the theft, usually by way of an unconventional access point above ground level that was identified in the initial visit.

US, slang

Examples

“For a brief period in Warsaw in the 1890s, Kornblum had been forced into a life of crime, as a second-story man, and the prospect of prizing the Golem out of its current home, unsuspected, awoke wicked old memories of gaslight and stolen gems.”

“They were appalled by his idea of making a spy service out of a scattershot collection of Wall Street brokers, Ivy League eggheads, soldiers of fortune, ad men, news men, stunt men, second-story men, and con men.”

CEFR level