skeleton keys

Universal lock picks

A skeleton key is a key designed to open many different locks, typically by having a simplified shape that bypasses the internal mechanisms.

The term evokes the key's stripped-down appearance—reduced to its essential structure like a skeleton.

Figuratively, a skeleton key is anything that provides access to multiple things: Her degree was a skeleton key to jobs across the industry.

Related

impressioning · lockpicking · lock pick set · turn · warded · locked door · access · twist · door · secret passage · Victorian era · haunted house · metal · entry · lock · iron · unauthorized access · break in

Categories
Opposites
security/legitimacy

skeleton keysdeadbolts

Locks requiring key turns

biometric locks · smart locks · combination locks · safes

Family

skeleton, keyboard, skeletal, keyhole, keynote, keypad, keycard, exoskeleton, keyring

Familiarity
Top 100,000
Profile
Known to kids · Used worldwide · Timeless · Concrete · Everyday, not technical · Rated G