betties

Noun

betty (plural betties)

1. (slang) A short bar used by thieves to wrench doors open; a jimmy.
   • No modern Lycæum vvill ever equal thy Glory, […] deſcribing the povverful Betty, or the artful Picklock, […]1712, Humphry Polesworth [pseudonym; John Arbuthnot], “The Preface”, in Lewis Baboon Turned Honest, and John Bull Politician. Being the Fourth Part of Law is a Bottomless-Pit. […], London: […] John...
2. (slang) A picklock, skeleton key; a tool for opening locks.
   • After a quick meal at a tea shop, we found ourselves in the hallway at the Midland Hotel, where he removed a skeleton key, or “betty” as he called it, from his pocket and inserted it in the keyhole. […] Once they were out of sight, I fumbled about with the betty for a few moments before the lock...1958, Will Thomas, To Kingdom Come, page 161
3. (archaic, derogatory) A man who performs tasks that traditionally belong to a woman; (originally) an effeminate or gay man.

   Synonyms:

   cot-betty, cot-quean, henhussy, molly

4. (US, archaic) A pear-shaped bottle covered with straw, in which olive oil is sometimes brought from Italy; a Florence flask.
   • On olive oil in casks, twenty cents per gallon; olive salad oil in bottles or betties, thirty per centum ad valorem1841, Acts and Resolutions Passed at the First Session of the Twenty-Seventh Congress of the United States
5. A baked dessert made with alternating layers of sweetened fruit and buttered bread crumbs.
   • A pie-size betty is traditional, but if you like, assemble the recipe in individual ovenproof ramekins.2021 November, “Apple-Almond Brave Betty”, in Midwest Living, archived from the original on 01 Dec 2021
6. (slang, slightly pejorative) An attractive woman; a babe.
   • Isn't my house classic? The columns date all the way back to 1972. Wasn't my Mom a betty? She died when I was just a baby. A fluke accident during a routine liposuction. I don't remember her, but I like to pretend she still watches over me.1995, Amy Heckerling, Clueless, spoken by Cher (Alicia Silverstone)

   Synonyms:

   beautiful woman

See all 10 meanings of betty