A safe-cracker or thief who specializes in opening and robbing safes; a criminal who breaks into locked strongboxes.
From the 19th-century criminal slang 'peter' (a safe), likely from the name Peter or possibly from the Greek 'petros' (stone). A 'peterman' became the specialized criminal who opened these tough metal containers for theft.
Thieves developed their own jargon to describe their tools and skills—a 'peter' was a safe, so a 'peterman' was a specialist—similar to how surgeons have specialized vocabulary. Criminal slang shows that every community, even illegal ones, develops complex language.
Compound uses masculine 'man'; refers to a peterman (burglar specializing in safes). While historically male-dominated trade, term now excludes women linguistically despite women entering the field.
Use 'safe cracker' or 'safe specialist' as gender-neutral alternatives; or specify 'peterman' with awareness that '-man' suffix no longer reflects inclusive reality.
["safe cracker","safe specialist","safe burglar"]
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