bash and grab

• bash-and-grab

bash and grab (plural bash and grabs)

1. (informal) The violent taking of something, such as in a robbery.
   • 1946, Peter Joseph Hurley, From Kosciusko to the Sea: A Journey Along the River Murray, page 8:

     Too often the law of bash and grab, with the axe and saw, have operated on these rich fields of revenue.

   • 1956, New Zealand. Parliament, Parliamentary Debates. House of Representatives:

     Mr BOORD (Rotorua) said he had been concerned about the increase in "bash and grab” crime.

   • 1991, Janet Groene, Dressing ship: how to furnish, refurbish, and accessorize your boat, →ISBN:

     In narrow marina berths, tightly closed blinds are a defense against everything from bash-and-grab thieves to peeping toms.

• smash and grab

bash and grab (third-person singular simple present bashes and grabs, present participle bashing and grabbing, simple past and past participle bashed and grabbed)

1. (informal) To perform such an act.