make out like a bandit

noun, plural ban·dits or (Rare) ban·dit·ti [ban-dit-ee] /bænˈdɪt i/.

1. a robber, especially a member of a gang or marauding band.
2. an outlaw or highwayman.
3. Informal.
   1. a person who takes unfair advantage of others, as a merchant who overcharges; swindler; cheat.
   2. a vendor, cab driver, etc., who operates a business or works without a required license or permit, and without observing the usual rules or practices.
4. Military Informal. an enemy aircraft, especially an attacking fighter.

Idioms

5. make out like a bandit, Slang. to be extremely successful; profit greatly: The early investors in the company have made out like bandits.

noun plural -dits or -ditti (-ˈdɪtɪ)

1. a robber, esp a member of an armed gang; brigand

n.1590s, from Italian bandito (plural banditi) “outlaw,” past participle of bandire “proscribe, banish,” from Vulgar Latin *bannire “to proclaim, proscribe,” from Proto-Germanic *bann (see ban (v.)). *Bannire (or its Frankish cognate *bannjan) in Old French became banir-, which, with lengthened stem, became English banish. Succeed extremely well, as in He invested in real estate and made out like a bandit. This expression likens other forms of success to that of a triumphant robber. It may, however, come from an intermediate source, that is, the use of bandit (or one-armed bandit) for a slot machine, which is far more profitable for the house than for gamblers. [Slang; c. 1970]