skeleton key

noun

1. a key with nearly the whole substance of the bit filed away so that it may open various locks.

skeleton key

noun

1. Also called: passkey. a key with the serrated edge filed down so that it can open numerous locks

Word History and Origins

Origin of skeleton key¹

First recorded in 1800–10

Word History and Origins

Origin of skeleton key¹

C19: so called because it has been reduced to its essential parts

Example Sentences

“Megadoc” is not exactly a skeleton key for understanding “Megalopolis,” but it is useful and insightful, full of scenes of conflict followed by resolution, understanding emerging from confusion.

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The skeleton key to understanding reactionary conservatism is quite simple: they are scared, all the time, of everything.

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Brigit riffled inside and retrieved old styluses, a moldy Marveller-bar, and a huge skeleton key imprinted with a diamond and wrapped in thread.

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Introducing the 688-page biography this way seems designed to address Musk’s recent turn towards combativeness and cruelty — if not justifying it, then offering a skeleton key to understanding where it’s rooted.

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“Microsoft should not have had a single skeleton key that, when inevitably stolen, could be used to forge access to different customers’ private communications.”

Read more on Seattle Times