betty

Meaning

Noun

1. (slang) A short bar used by thieves to wrench doors open; a jimmy.
2. (slang) A picklock, skeleton key; a tool for opening locks.
3. A man who performs tasks that traditionally belong to a woman; (originally) an effeminate or gay man.
4. A pear-shaped bottle covered with straw, in which olive oil is sometimes brought from Italy; a Florence flask.
5. A baked dessert made with alternating layers of sweetened fruit and buttered bread crumbs.
6. (slang) An attractive woman; a babe.

Verb

1. To pick a lock, to open with a betty.
2. To be overly attentive to someone or something.

Synonyms

little

Pronounced as (IPA)

/bɛti/

Etymology

From Betty (nickname for “Elizabeth”). In thieves’ cant a tool for wrenching locked doors is also called a Bess (from “Elizabeth”) or a Jenny. The “attractive woman” sense may relate to the character Betty Rubble in the cartoon The Flintstones.