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REFERENCE

inside job

idiom
Meaning

A crime or other illicit action committed by or with the assistance of someone either having a relationship with a victim or entrusted with access to the victim's affairs and premises.


Origin

first recorded 20th c.

First attested in 1908. See cite below.

Examples
SIMPLE

The police think the robbery was an inside job.

CONTEXTUAL

The security guard realized the theft was an inside job because the alarm system was disabled from the inside.

COMPLEX

Investigators concluded that the sophisticated data breach was an inside job, orchestrated by a disgruntled employee with full access to the company's private servers.

Anchors to
Related idioms8entries
  1. 01

    don't give up your day job

    Somewhat sarcastic but usually good-natured advice used to criticise a person's degree of talent (especially in music or other performing arts), implying that they are unlikely to be successful.

  2. 02

    full-time job

    An activity that consumes a great deal of time.

  3. 03

    good job

    Well done; congratulations!

  4. 04

    great job

    well done; congratulations! (a praise for someone's efforts, possibly to a higher degree than good job!)

  5. 05

    joe job

    An uninteresting, low-level, low-paying job.

  6. 06

    outside job

    A crime or other illicit action committed by an individual not connected or associated with the premises or organization in which it took place.

  7. 07

    patience of Job

    A great amount of patience.

  8. 08

    put-up job

    An attempt to trick, deceive, or con someone.

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