English · Idiom Historical

key of the street

Preserved but no longer current.

Both English Tiếng Việt

Meaning · English

An imaginary instrument said to be possessed by any one locked out of doors.

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

Một công cụ tưởng tượng được cho là sở hữu bởi bất kỳ ai bị khóa ngoài cửa

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

Era: ca. 1874 (Victorian)

Where it’s used: Origin British & Irish English

Sources & notes

Historical definition reproduced from Hotten’s The Slang Dictionary (1874, public domain; Project Gutenberg #42108, retrieved 2026-07-31). Reflects the attitudes of its era.

Topics: Historical slang (1800s)

Common questions

What does “key of the street” mean?

An imaginary instrument said to be possessed by any one locked out of doors.

Is “key of the street” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.

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