This article is from the Locksmithing FAQ, by Joe "Spike" Ilacqua spike@indra.com and Henry Schaffer hes@ncsu.edu, major data collection effort by Scott Anguish sanguish@digifix.com with numerous contributions by others.
"Skeleton Keys" are keys ground to avoid the wards in warded locks.
There is no analog with modern pin tumbler locks. Master keys may
open a large set of locks, but this is designed in when the locks are
'pinned' with master pins.
 
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