Slim jim

[Joel Shaver]

The recent discussion of 'pry' and 'prise' on Lynne Murphy's (addictive)
blog ...

(http://separatedbyacommonlanguage.blogspot.com/2007/05/strikes-and-prying-in-grauniad.html)

... has made me wonder about the 'slim jim,' a common lock-picking tool
for car doors (at least in my usage).  OED has 'slim jim' in the sense
'something long and thin or narrow' from 1916, but doesn't mention the
lock-picking tool (or the beef stick, but I can forgive that), which I
would think should be a fairly established term.  I wonder if the
development of 'slim jim' has been affected by 'Jimmy' (v.) meaning to
'force open a door' (attested from 1893 in OED).

Here's the Wikipedia on slim jim (lock pick), as *conclusive proof* if
you don't believe me.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slim_Jim_(lock_pick)

Joel Shaver
University of Glasgow

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