What does ”lighting thief” mean?

You ask about "lighting thief", but do you mean "lightning thief"? Are you talking about the book here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lightning_Thief

?

When you say "rubs" I suppose you mean "robs"?

Sorry, both are typos.

What I'm talking about includes the book title but I want to know how you usually take the meaning when you see the combination.

Thanks for your reply.

AnonymousWhat I'm talking about includes the book title but I want to know how you usually take the meaning when you see the combination.

With no further context, the interpretations "person who steals lightning" and "thief who works very quickly" both seem possible, but it is not a phrase that is commonly (or ever) heard in everyday life. Apparently in the bo

My daughter and I both enjoyed the book. It's about the Greek gods, and someone has indeed stolen lightning -- in particular, Zeus's lightning bolt.

You aren't supposed to know immediately what a "lightning thief" is. You have to learn what it means along with the main character.

(The book series is very entertaining. The movie based on this book was a bit of a disappointment.)

Thank you guys. You really help me out.

And I have another question of this argument.

May I take it that the lightning thief as a man who steals the lightning is a noun-noun compound nouns as the grammar and that as a man who steal so quickly is a normal combination of both adjective and noun?

AnonymousMay I take it that the lightning thief as a man who steals the lightning is a noun-noun compound

Yes.

Anonymousand that as a man who steal so quickly is a normal combination of both adjective and noun?

I find it a slight stretch to accept "lightning" as a true adjective. Opinions about this may vary. For example, Co

Collins determines the meaning of the word as the modifier noun.

Your suggestion is quite an education for me.

Thank you for all your support.