What do you call these where you are from?

[-]

benjymous@reddit

It's a yale door lock with a wicker heart thing dangling from it.

If you're asking how I'd tell someone to leave the lock in an open position so anyone can enter, I'd say "can you put the door on the latch?"

[-]

NotMyUsualChoice@reddit

I've lived just over half of my life in Scotland, and before moving north of the border I had lived just under half of it in the North of England.

The catch on a Yale lock has always been, and always will be, referred to as the snib. 👋

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Sad-Wrap6555@reddit

not sure I'd call it Scottish - snib is the official term used by the original manufacturer (Yale)

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HotPinkLollyWimple@reddit

Hence the phrase ‘latch key children’, because doors were left on the latch when no one was home. We were not trusted with keys!

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ExecutiveChimp@reddit

That's not quite right, is it? Latch key kids have a key to let themselves in. Otherwise they'd just be latch children.

[-]

RetiredFromIT@reddit

Agreed - by what we called it, it's a Yale lock, even a "yale-style lock" if not actually by Yale. I last had to deal with one of these, 20+ years ago, and locked myself out far too often!

I understand "can you put the door on the latch" or even "the catch", but we would have said "raise the latch".

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DeadAnarchistPhil@reddit

Greater Manchester here. Yup, same, we call it a latch too. Others seem to call it different things in different parts of the country.

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BirdieStitching@reddit

We used to say "leave the door on the click"

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Broken_Woman20@reddit

Yes, I agree. I call it a Yale lock and would say leave the door on the latch as well.

[-]

Big_Dave990@reddit

Me too. I’ve always called it the latch as well.

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matti-san@reddit

Same here in Lincolnshire. Might hear someone say 'sneck it to'. But, weirdly, where I am a 'sneck' can also be a tight spot like you might say 'I'm parked in a bit of a sneck'

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GeordieAl@reddit

Same here. Northumberland/Newcastle always put the door on the sneck before going out

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Snailyleen@reddit

Same here - south Cumbria. I’m curious about the distribution of this term!

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LittleGateaux@reddit

I've heard snick or sneck and I'm from the North East.

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socksdadsandsleaze@reddit

Put it on the latch, or put the snib on.

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_FreddieLovesDelilah@reddit

Latch. We say ‘leave it on the latch’.

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ConflictOfEvidence@reddit

South Wales here. We always called it the catch.

[-]

It is what I'd heard they were nicknamed after I got burgalled whilst having this when I was a student in London. Never again will I live somewhere that doesn't have a proper lock built into the door.

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Jordment@reddit

A snip

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taro354@reddit

I’ve never heard any of this. So I’d call it stupid.

[-]

Sad_Cardiologist5388@reddit

Sneck

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Arbernaut@reddit

Doors.

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LauraPa1mer@reddit

Deadbolt

[-]

Lea32R@reddit

The snip.

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Relevant-Form-3351@reddit

Snib. North of Scotland.

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CurrentlyHuman@reddit

A latch. Can put the snib on to lock it open/closed.

[-]

FrostyRydia@reddit

South East - Latch

"I've put the door on the latch"

[-]

Individual-Web-2547@reddit

The latch.

[-]

psyper76@reddit

I'd say - put the door on the latch.

[-]

Pmyers225@reddit

It would be door on t'latch for me... Yes I am a Yorkshireman

[-]

Dutch_Slim@reddit

Put wood in t’hole 😁 we are cockney but always say this. Not the question asked but your reply made me smile

[-]

Amazing-Heron-105@reddit

I live in the south-west but me and my mates went through of a phase of pretending to be Northern when we were teenagers. Lots of aye ups, and t'words.

[-]

teatabletea@reddit

Do you live in a dip?

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Pmyers225@reddit

Im from a dump (Rotherham)

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ExaminationSpare486@reddit

As a fellow Yorkshireman, the t' would only be used for special occasions, like of t' shop. The t' on this occasion would be more like a mild noise uttered.

[-]

Pmyers225@reddit

A fellow man of culture I see... I suppose a better pronunciation of it would be more "on pause latch"

[-]

Bensmokes@reddit

Me Three.

[-]

LimesFruit@reddit

yeah same here, everyone knows what I mean when I say that so no problems

[-]

whitefire9999@reddit

A liability… those old Yale locks are terrible you can kick them in easily then they just shut as normal afterwards like nothings happened, I know because years ago I locked myself out and thought wonder if I can kick it in without to much damage? and it went first time with no damage at all 😭😭😭

[-]

TH1CCARUS@reddit

Never heard “snib” in my life.

[-]

TheNinthGateLCF@reddit

I'm from Northern Ireland and would call it a snib.

[-]

Lumpy_Benefit666@reddit

Same. This is going to be the start of another cob vs bap vs barmcake style war, i can feel it

[-]

Complex-Honeydew-111@reddit

Alley vs snicket vs ginnel

[-]

Yachting-Mishaps@reddit

Careful, you're going to upset the people from Leicester who insist on calling it a jitty.

[-]

DeadAnarchistPhil@reddit

Cubby hole vs. a cupboard, specifically the space under the stairs.

[-]

Monochrome247@reddit

I think you'll find that that's a wynd.

[-]

Monochrome247@reddit

Having been brought up in Aberdeen, I'd like to add "softie" to the mix.

[-]

Basic-Pangolin553@reddit

The snib is the little button/slider that locks the latch. The latch is the whole apparatus.

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Stabbycrab1@reddit

Yeah that’s what I was getting at with snib, probably didn’t clarify that well.

We’d call the separate door chain the latch. The lock itself we just call the lock or even just a yale

Technically speaking it’s a deadlatch so you’re closest to the truth. But I do enjoy learning about different colloquial terms for these things!

[-]

Stabbycrab1@reddit

It’s a Yale lock here, but we do refer to putting the snib up or down

[-]

Fyonella@reddit

I’ve always known it as a sneck. ‘Leave the sneck on’ but I’d know what ‘snib’ meant too.

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Stabbycrab1@reddit

Ooo sneck is a new one on me! The other commenter might be right, this is going to be the new cob vs bap debate again 😅

Although I do enjoy seeing how different parts of the country refer to the same thing

[-]

MarieCry@reddit

Also snib, Scotland.

I always like to ask people what they call the shelf above the fire or the remote control because you similarly get a variety of answers!

Mantlepiece and the button(s) for me. I don't think anyone else has told me button back lol so I acknowledge the strangeness. Channel chopper was the most interesting I heard.

[-]

EsotericSnail@reddit

I understand snib but I’d say sneck. Grew up in Liverpool but parents are from North East, so I’m not sure which part of the country “sneck” came from.

[-]

ScallyGirl@reddit

I am from Liverpool and we would say 'put it on the snip' never understood why, but maybe it is a bastardisation of snib.

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orchidieus@reddit

Same. We say snip. I always associated it with the little 'snip' sound it makes when you push it

[-]

KezzaK2608@reddit

I'm from Newcastle and I call it a sneck.

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Felchers@reddit

I'm Merseyside and call it sneck. Never heard of snib!

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Due-Tea-2462@reddit

Northern Ireland here. We always said snib in my house.

[-]

HolzMartin1988@reddit

It's a yale lock and they are the best thing ever invented lol. You can close the main door quietly by putting the key in the keyhole turn it to open close bring the door forward and then lock quietly. Make sure the "snib" is the right way though lol and remember your keys lol

[-]

rorobear14@reddit

We called it the snick. From Leicester.

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loveswimmingpools@reddit

I think we said 'on the catch' but maybe I just misheard 'latch' and have been saying it wrong all these years 🤔

[-]

Sea-Salamander-5222@reddit

Latch

[-]

xander012@reddit

When pulling on it, it's a door knob, when twisting it's a latch. It's knobs all the way down with how I refer to these fuckers ngl

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Less_Height_4716@reddit

Somerset, Snib but my late father was Scots.

[-]

Euphoric-Piglet-8140@reddit

Door latch.

[-]

Jaimukas@reddit

As someone in the Lock industry, I can tell you its a Night Latch, and Yale is the brand, not the type of lock.

[-]

Mildmiddlechild@reddit

Batten down the hatches and man the mizenmast me hearties, personally.

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Sea_Pomegranate8229@reddit

'on the latch'

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stiletto929@reddit

In the US, deadbolt.

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fr3yababii33@reddit

Latch or catch here

[-]

Bowtie327@reddit

“Yale lock”

I first saw one in the TARDIS door in Doctor Who when I was little, at the time I didn’t realise Yale made all sorts of locks, not just this type of

[-]

Suspicious_Field_429@reddit

The f***ing snib

[-]

samworthy85@reddit

Sneck. Jennings brewery from Cockermouth used to make a fine ale called Sneck Lifter 👌

[-]

Sensitive-Youth-9803@reddit

Door latch

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Ich_Nichten_Lichten-@reddit

Snib (in Reading in case its a locale thing).

[-]

WhiteDiamondK@reddit

“Leave the door on the latch”

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UselessDood@reddit

It's a latch. Devon born, moved to Liverpool

[-]

SerafinaSheffield@reddit

Yale locks

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tartar-buildup@reddit

Latch. Never heard of ‘snib’

[-]

Kim_catiko@reddit

Never heard of snib. I would say leave the door on latch.

[-]

bbgun24@reddit

Latch and the Blair Witch project attached to it

[-]

Fast_Boysenberry9493@reddit

When I read "dub the door" I heard that dubstep with guy saying Where's my money! Dwuarppppp!! Doot dooot Doot doot doot

[-]

Temporary_Fennel7479@reddit

Deadlock

[-]

FuzzySnake43@reddit

Strong independent women

[-]

Simple-Intention8411@reddit

Latch locks

[-]

GaryJM@reddit

I'd call it a latch, though I do hear people say snib too.

[-]

Wonderful_Affect_664@reddit

I’ve been brought up to use latch but since hearing the word snib, I prefer to use that instead.

It has since mutated to a verb

Can you snibbulate the door please

[-]

Basic-Pangolin553@reddit

The snib is part of the latch

[-]

Furaclee@reddit

Kundee in hindi

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lovesorangesoda636@reddit

The snib. The whole lock is "the yale" but the little button is the snib.

[-]

SpecialYapper@reddit

That's a snick.

[-]

Sad-Wrap6555@reddit

most folk call the lock a Yale lock which is a bit like calling a vacuum cleaner a hoover as they are synonymous with them

its a traditional surface night latch and the little piece to hold the latch in its retracted position is called a 'snib' function by Yale themselves

You can also get surface mounted rim locks that look similar but those use a mechanically throwable flat sided deadbolt, rather than a sprung wedge shaped auto throwing latch

[-]

Educational-Ride-640@reddit

DOOR ???

[-]

Tumeni1959@reddit

I call it a Yale lock. The bit that projects into the keeper on the door frame is the "snib" as others are calling it.

[-]

Handsom_modest_Dan@reddit

This is a Yale night latch

Pops had a diploma in architectural ironmongery

[-]

Handsom_modest_Dan@reddit

The night latch or the wicker heart ?

[-]

Dear_General1657@reddit

I’d call it a latch BUT, I used to live in the North East where I heard it called a “sneck”.

[-]

Anxious_Common_4193@reddit

ours is a little chain than goes into another area so we call ours the chain but this I'd just call a lock

[-]

n3m0sum@reddit

A standard Yale latching slam lock.

[-]

paintedpolkadot@reddit

The sneck! As in ‘put the sneck on’

[-]

Exotic_Lobster6039@reddit

It is called a night latch. Yale would be the same a hover. Just a brand name

[-]

ResplendentBear@reddit

It's a door lock.

AFAIK a snib and a dub are things from Quidditch.

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AllThatIHaveDone@reddit

Neither of those things are Quidditch terms.

[-]

ResplendentBear@reddit

Whoosh

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AllThatIHaveDone@reddit

Tedious.

[-]

ResplendentBear@reddit

Pedant.

[-]

AllThatIHaveDone@reddit

I'm pedantic because you tried to crack a weak joke whereby you just spelled the words wrong and I didn't intuit that? Huh? What even is this interaction? 😅

[-]

ResplendentBear@reddit

Dude, I just whooshed you. You're the one who started throwing insults around, and are now acting like the aggrieved party.

Try learning to take a joke. Or not spending your time correcting people on insignificant things online. Or maybe both.

[-]

AskUK-ModTeam@reddit

Don't be a dick to each other, or other subreddits, places, or people.

Don't be a dick to each other, or other subreddits, places, or people. AskUK contains a variety of ages, experiences, and backgrounds - consider not everyone is operating on the same level or background as you. Listen to others before you respond, and be courteous when doing so.

[-]

BillPayers@reddit

Latch, never heard snib, or if I did I didn't understand and possibly, obliviously, locked someone in/out

[-]

CollThom@reddit

Snib

[-]

ThisIsMyRedditAcct20@reddit

Dumb AI question. It’s a latch. Now stop using us to train robots

[-]

Winston_Carbuncle@reddit

It's not, though. It's a mortice lock. That's it's actual name.

[-]

happyanathema@reddit

It's a night latch not a mortice

[-]

Winston_Carbuncle@reddit

The type of lock is called a mortice by the manufacturers and the industry.

[-]

ThisIsMyRedditAcct20@reddit

Alright. And my Trainers are 2026 Adidas Sambas Blue and Red with a stone soul

[-]

Honibajir@reddit

Sneck

[-]

Kwentchio@reddit

Northern Irish chiming in, we say snib.

[-]

Final_Anybody_3862@reddit

Yale, latch.

[-]

Why_do_I_bother999@reddit

The correct name of the lock is a rim nightlatch. The button to hold the latch in or lock it out is a snib button.

[-]

Immediate-Ad-8047@reddit

Im from earth, we call this a Yale lock, dead lock, drop lock, and a silver heart Christmas decoration. Hope this helps

[-]

WrongExplanation1065@reddit

Snib, catch, latch

[-]

DignityIndex@reddit

I call it a deadbolt

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Dayervid@reddit

The sneck in Sunderland

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GreekVicar@reddit

As a child I knew it as a snick

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Creative_Resource_82@reddit

Annoying?

[-]

ThatNegro98@reddit

Latch

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richStoke@reddit

The sneck

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TroublesomeTaurus@reddit

West Scotland, snib is what we all said to keep it open. Dub the door meant to lock it.

[-]

WhyN0tToast@reddit

If you asked me to dub the door I would frantically flap the letter box open and closed and say "welcome my young apprentice....you have much to learn...first you must master...paint the fence!"

[-]

Special-Accountant63@reddit

Snib" is such a great word, I’ve always known it as "on the latch" where I’m from, but I love how regional these little terms can get.

[-]

TSC-99@reddit

Latch. Never heard of snib.

[-]

edaddyo@reddit

In London. I always refer to it as the night latch.

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NortonBurns@reddit

I grew up calling it a Yale, no matter who it was made by. If you open it & click the little switch, then it's 'on the latch' so latch would be understood too.

[-]

benjymous@reddit

Yeah, "Yale" is specifically "door lock that automatically closes and locks when the door is shut" rather than "Lock manufactured by Yale".

Just like you'd know I meant a vaccuum cleaner if I talked about a Hoover

[-]

NortonBurns@reddit

Yeah. I hoover the house every week. I haven't ever owned anything made by Hoover in my entire life ;)

[-]

Therashser@reddit

My grandma always corrected me back as far as the 80s, I still hoover though.

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Pmyers225@reddit

Or Tannoy for public address system

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dobber72@reddit

It's confusing in my household because my Hoover is a washing machine.

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Anon_Fodder@reddit

Snib is mostly used in Scotland I think

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Flippin_Drutt@reddit

Yeah we call it the snib

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Jumpy-Scallion-9463@reddit

Oh Leeds Yorkshire! Nope. Doesn't work for me.

[-]

stauer88@reddit

We call it the snip. It's been quite a nice surprise to realise we've just been butchering the Scottish version unknowingly.

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Melchior_Chopstick@reddit

A door.

[-]

ChemistForward4329@reddit

I'm in NI and have always called it the snib too

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Odd_Mycologist_9241@reddit

We always called it the snek " Have you put the snek on"

[-]

Infamous-Bite-1246@reddit

Yale lock. Even if the brand isn't Yale. It's still a Yale lock 😂

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Vanbursta1@reddit

A door lock, as in "lock the door"

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hippiehappos@reddit

Lock “can you lock the door”

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MrCowabs@reddit

Latch or sneck

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Informal_Television7@reddit

I would say, put the catch on

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unstoppablemuscle@reddit

Latch

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dizzycow84@reddit

I've always called it a snib

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ImColinDentHowzTrix@reddit

OP without doxing yourself would you be comfortable telling us what part of the country you're from? Fascinating that no one else in the comments has heard of this other than you.

[-]

jackyboiiii95@reddit (OP)

I’m in the west of Scotland although I see a lot of people calling it a snib? Are you referring to ‘dub the door’? I’ve only heard that a couple of times and it’s usually council estate older people

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ImColinDentHowzTrix@reddit

Great how we can have such variety. I bet it's one of those things that go back centuries if you tried to track it through time.

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scottgal2@reddit

Yup the snib / the catch.

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mad-fancy@reddit

Tat

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SGRiggall@reddit

Night latch or just latch

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DanFarrell98@reddit

Door

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ehco@reddit

Deadlock.

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Serious_Badger_4145@reddit

Latch

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Your_so_jay_dood@reddit

Chubb lock, It is a brand but from childhood always called it that. I believe we had a ‘Chubb’ lock on our door when I was a kid.

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BrendanOhPea@reddit

It's a night latch

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These-Lie-5854@reddit

Id call the lock itself the latch. The wee slider which can prevent it latching is called the snib

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El_Zilcho@reddit

If I am inside the UK I call it a Yale lock but rest of the English speaking world calls it a night latch, I was shopping for smart locks from an American company and found out it was incompatible with Yale locks which I only found when switching terminology to night latch.

[-]

YOF626@reddit

A snib

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Neorxnawang-Christ@reddit

Doors

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Foreign-Violinist-11@reddit

The snib. I remember being told as a kid to leave the snib up if family were coming over to our house, or at night being asked to go check the snib was down before bed. Snib is right, latch is boring people talk.

[-]

PhilOakeysFringe@reddit

"Catch" or sometimes "latch" in my family (Bristol).

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Flippin_Drutt@reddit

The snib.

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SithoDude@reddit

Live Love laugh key ring edition

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pip_goes_pop@reddit

A snib, which has reminded me of an event that really pissed me off.

I locked myself out of my house once and called a locksmith out. He was struggling to get in so said "oh I bet the snib's up". I told him it definitely wasn't as it would be impossible for it to be up as I exited from the front door and nobody else lived there. As he struggled more and more to open it he'd repeat "you must have put the snib up", trying to find an excuse for why his usual technique didn't work. This wound me up as I knew it couldn't be up.

He eventually got in by drilling it out (he was a shit locksmith) opened the door and I saw him reach round and put the snib up, only to then say "yeah look the snib was up". I was fuming at the twat.

[-]

BedaFomm@reddit

I have also locked myself out, and had to call a locksmith. He also “couldn’t open it with his plastic thing”, but was miraculously able to drill it out for a much bigger fee. Funny that.

[-]

algypan@reddit

Snek

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mattzaliar@reddit

Put the sneck on!

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Upawha@reddit

Snib

[-]

Neddlings55@reddit

If we are talking about the heart, then fucking annoying.

My mother has them on every fucking handle available in her house.

[-]

MissSparkleMuffin@reddit

Usually "the thingy" (adhd).

Where I'm from, the latch. Moved up north and was so confused when I heard 'snib' the first time

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toady89@reddit

The latch, I may have purposefully removed the button from the slider when we had one in a building of shared flats when others kept leaving it on the latch.

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Fact-Hunter-@reddit

It’s a latch lock, often referred to as a Yale lock because they were a leading manufacturer of this type.

Leaving the “door on the latch” is how you’d leave it open / unlocked.

I’ve never some across the word “snib” before.

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life-ofthefuneral@reddit

Never heard of snib, we’d say latch or snek!

[-]

SiriusBlack99999@reddit

I have always called them the latch.

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theNixher@reddit

An easy target in 2026.

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Winston_Carbuncle@reddit

Mortice (sp) lock

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stillnoteeth@reddit

Snick

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belliest_endis@reddit

A heart

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Frankkienz@reddit

Locks, B&Q and mist hardware shops.

[-]

Morris_Alanisette@reddit

To me, a snib is a secret key you can use to put a lock "on latch". We have them all over at work so doors can be left unlocked during working hours and then locked at night.

[-]

Scratchy-cat@reddit

We called it the latch I think, I only really remember it as 'put the door on the latch'

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Sharp_Budget_4416@reddit

Grew up in the Midlands calling it the latch. "Leave it on the latch" if I was nipping out for milk and someone was on their way over. Moved to London and snib is genuinely news to me, sounds Scottish to my ear.

[-]

Chrispy_GB@reddit

I'd call it a lock and I'm surprised that something like this is open to interpretation.

[-]

DameKumquat@reddit

yeah, but what sort of lock?

The latch is the bit that goes in and out, and the snib is the slider to hold the door on the latch or not.

[-]

cglotr@reddit

Leave the door on the latch please

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seriousherenow@reddit

That's the snib

[-]

_Daftest_@reddit

Yeah the snib isn't the whole thing it's the little sliding dome-shaped switch

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here-but-not-present@reddit

It's a yale lock, but I would ask "can you snib the door" (with snib being a verb rather than a noun).

[-]

rileyvace@reddit

It's a nightlatch.

[-]

Yahoo_Rye@reddit

Snib (Fife)

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Affectionate_You7621@reddit

Yeah its a pale lock even though its a brand.

Like calling a vacuum cleaner a hoover.

The bit you move up and down is the nightlatch.

The other lock you have on doors is called a mortice lock with the big key.

[-]

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