case the joint

case the joint

1. Sl. to look over some place to figure out how to break in, what to steal, etc. (Underworld.) •

First of all you gotta case the joint to see where things are.

•

You could see he was casing the joint the way he hung around.

2. Sl. to look a place over. •

The dog came in and cased the joint, sniffing out friends and foes.

•

The old lady entered slowly, casing the joint for someone of her own age, and finally took a seat.

* * *

{v. phr.}, {slang} 1. To study the layout of a place one wishes to burglarize. * /The hooded criminals carefully cased the joint before robbing the neighborhood bank./ 2. To familiarize oneself with a potential workplace or vacation spot as a matter of preliminary planning. * /"Hello Fred," he said. "Are you working here now?" "No, not yet," Fred answered. "I am merely casing the joint."/