2006-10-06 10:54:00 · 10 answers · asked by hammersatp 1 in Society & Culture ➔ Languages
I've never heard it called that.
2006-10-06 11:01:03 · answer #1 · answered by Nobody You Know 2 · 0⤊ 2⤋
It comes from the expression "robbing Peter to pay Paul" that is taking money to pay the bills from one place and not using it for what it had been kept for. A safe-breaker is known as a Peter-Man.
A safe is also known as a can, a crib and a damper in London slang.
2006-10-06 18:21:45 · answer #2 · answered by U.K.Export 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
A safecracker (bank robber in otherwords) was called a peterman because one of the constituents in old-fashioned explosives was saltpetre or potassium nitrite. So anyone who was adept at handling this type of explosive was known as a petre (peter) man and therefore, by association, the safe is known as the peter.
2006-10-06 18:12:01 · answer #3 · answered by mrsjj49 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
It is rhyming slang...Peter Quaife=safe, it dates back to the 60`s British Rock and Roll era in Ye Olde London Towne.
Probably.
2006-10-06 18:09:20 · answer #4 · answered by Robert Abuse 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
From the name Peter; possibly an allusion to the fact that the name means "rock."
Burglars who specialized in safes were called petermen in British underworld slang well past WWII.
2006-10-06 18:06:16 · answer #5 · answered by blueprairie 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I would have thought that it had something to do with St Peter being the custodian of the keys of Heaven!
2006-10-07 07:27:54 · answer #6 · answered by Doethineb 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Because you never want to slam the door on your peter.
2006-10-06 18:20:28 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
sorry i dont know ,but a prison cell is also known as a peter,
something to do with being secure
2006-10-06 18:07:29 · answer #8 · answered by MICHAEL B 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
anyone who is able to open a safe illegally is referred to as a Peterman so I guess it rubs off in abbreviation to a safe
2006-10-10 17:04:54 · answer #9 · answered by srracvuee 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sorry I've never heard it called that.
2006-10-06 18:46:59 · answer #10 · answered by Actualmente, Disfruto Siendo Lycantropica 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋