monte-en-l'air

French

Etymology

From monter en l’air (“to go up in the air”), from the fact that a burglar may have to climb over walls to break into a house.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mɔ̃.tɑ̃.l‿ɛʁ/

Noun

monte-en-l’air m (plural monte-en-l’air)

1. (colloquial, dated) cat burglar

   Synonym: cambrioleur

   • 2019, Alain Damasio, chapter 3, in Les furtifs [The Stealthies], La Volte, →ISBN:

     — Si c’était un monte-en-l’air, il serait passé par le toit et il serait descendu en rappel : la serrure du toit aurait été forcée.

     "If it was a cat burglar, he would have got in through the roof and abseiled down; the lock on the roof would have been forced."

Further reading

• “monte-en-l'air”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.