sneaky beaky

English

Etymology

Rhyming reduplication.

Noun

sneaky beaky (plural sneaky beakies)

1. (slang) A covert look or investigation.
   • 2003, Tim Marshall, Shadowplay, page 39:

     Whilst this might sound a little juvenile, it does serve as shorthand for what the MOD was about to do – carry out a sneaky beaky par excellence.

   • 2014, Martyn Kinsella-Jones, A Falling of Angels:

     "Flip me the details, and I'll have a sneaky beaky round for you."

   • 2014, Hamish Clarke, The Wrong Man, page 39:

     I left her in some bushes and did a sneaky beaky. It took me about forty five minutes to get up to the place and check that there were two elderly white guys and an elderly Congolese who seemed to be doing all the work.

2. (slang) A furtive person

   Synonym: sneaky beak