What is a hasp lock, in England?

October 17, 2024 6:28 AM

I'm reading an English locked-room mystery and a character said that "The hasp... ripped through the frame of the door.” This door is locked with a key and can be locked / unlocked from either side of the door. In England, does that make sense?

To me, an American, a hasp is the flat, hinged metal bit with a slot in it for use with a padlock, and not something that would rip through a door frame -- that would be a bolt or a latch. I have noticed A Thing That Happened regarding this door and suspect it will be vital to the mystery, but it doesn't make sense if it really is a hasp lock as I have known them.

posted by The corpse in the library to Home & Garden (5 answers total)

I think you're right, not really surprised the writer got confused here. It's like the word 'snib', the word 'keep' - people frequently misuse them
posted by dance at 6:33 AM on October 17, 2024

Oxford English Dictionary: hasp, n.

A hinged metal plate with a hole which fits over a staple and is secured by a pin or padlock; a similar metal plate on a case, trunk, etc., with a projecting piece which is secured by the lock; any similar device or mechanism for fastening a door, lid, window, etc.

Yeah, I think Thorogood (or the character Judith) simply made an error.
posted by zamboni at 6:36 AM on October 17, 2024 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Oh, duh, I didn't think to look in the OED. Thanks! (Thorogood might get his lock part names mixed up but Judith never would.)
posted by The corpse in the library at 7:27 AM on October 17, 2024

Response by poster: A few chapters on Judith calls the loop part of a hook latch a "hasp." The writer seems to be using it as a multipurpose "bit of a lock or latch."
posted by The corpse in the library at 12:42 PM on October 17, 2024

Judith calls the loop part of a hook latch a "hasp."

She is incorrect. The "loop part" is the staple, the hasp fits over that.
posted by HiroProtagonist at 7:52 PM on October 17, 2024