subs. phr. (old legal).—The crow-bars and hammers used by sheriffs’ officers to force doors and locks. [ROQUEFORT: faire la clef du Roy, ouvrir les clefs et les coffres avec des instruments de serrurier.]
1816. SCOTT, The Black Dwarf, 173, 4. ‘And what will ye do, if I carena to thraw the keys?’… ‘Force our way wi’ the KINGS KEYS, and break the neck of every soul we find in the house.
