forty thieves
Four dozen criminals
Forty thieves refers to the band of robbers in "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves," a tale from the *Arabian Nights* collection.
The phrase evokes a large, organized group of criminals or swindlers: The legislature is nothing but forty thieves.
In card games, Forty Thieves is a challenging solitaire variant using two decks.
- open sesameMagical access phrase
- hidden caveConcealed natural chamber
- caveUnderground hollow in rock
- sesameOilseed for tahini
- treasureValued wealth or keepsake
stolen gold · bandits · gold · jewels · magic · magic lamp · carpet · sultan · desert · plunder · hideout · daggers · turbans · camels · oasis · sacks · riches · rogues
- sesame folkloreopen sesame, Ali Baba, treasure cave, cave entrance, incantations
- Arabian NightsAladdin, Scheherazade, Ali Baba, Arabian Nights, Sinbad
- Eastern talesArabian Nights, Scheherazade, One Thousand and One Nights, Sinbad, Aladdin
- Number Symbolismnumerology, sacred numbers, lucky seven, unlucky thirteen, magic numbers