honor among thieves
Rogues respect rogues
Honor among thieves is the idea that criminals maintain a code of loyalty with each other—not stealing from fellow thieves, not informing to police, not betraying accomplices.
The phrase often carries irony, since such honor is notoriously unreliable: There's no honor among thieves when the police start offering deals.
- pactFormal agreement between parties
- gentleman's agreementInformal pact based on trust
- bondBinding tie or connection
- loyaltyFaithful commitment to another
- blood oathVow sealed by bloodshed
unwritten rules · street code · reciprocity · maxim · code · mutual respect · trusty · code of conduct · unspoken agreement · solidarity · omertà · criminal underworld · moral ambiguity · shared values · complicity · motto · secrecy · oath
honor among thievesbackstabbing
Covert betrayal of trust
betrayal · ratting out · snitching · double-crossing · treachery
honor among thievesrule of law
Supremacy of established laws
legal ethics · civic virtue · legal accountability · social contract
honor, honour, honors, honours, honored, honoured, honoring, honouring, honorable