►
OPEN BOTTLE jfM 9 [VN] ~ (open) a bottle (informal) to open a bottle, especially of wine, and
drink it ff
(x&) s mm
►
A JOKE lx% 10 [VN] ~ a joke (informal) to tell a joke
( %% ) ;
H»rai get 'cracking (informal) to begin immediately and work quickly ±
gpAT^ A cn?l get going : There’s a lot to be done, so let’s
get cracking. iHiftEftlfMflT, Tl^iltfcTABo not all,
everything, etc. sb’s cracked 'up to be (informal) not as good as people say TI&AO i# : He’s not nearly such a good writer as he’s
cracked up to be. ItkjffiTJiAfltfri# crack the ‘whip to use your authority or power to make sb
work very hard, usually by treating them in a strict way M IS! A — more at sledgehammer crack down (on
sb/sth) to try
harder to prevent an illegal activity and deal more severely with those who are
caught doing it 3§ fj ; F* fjf fT Sr; HJ7: Police are cracking down on drug
dealers.
( ) £AT; (!>&)%&,
Wft;
i Pi : If we crack on with the painting we should finish it today. 0
Time
was cracking on and we were nowhere near finished. .crack'up
(informal) 1 to become ill, either physically or
mentally, because of pressure ( SffiAjaJMiWff# ) f&
Ft: You’ll crack up if you carry on
working like this, fp #&#TT£, 2 to start laughing a lot
fftfe A^c^A: He walked in and everyone just cracked up. life — itA, XXUWMA^cfeAo .crack sb 'up (informal) to make sb laugh a lot {AA^S&A: Gill’s so funny, she just cracks
me up.
ATj#ft#7,
A^o a noun
►
BREAK 1 [G] - (in sth) a line on the surface of sth
where it has broken but not split into separate
parts Sfgt; S&: This cup has a crack in it. j&STS—it %&'M0 o Cracks
began to appear in the walls, ifrit JF#q dl TJfi $£ £1 7 o 0 (figurative) The cracks (= faults) in the government’s economic
policy are already beginning to show. —picture
O BROKEN
►
NARROW OPENING 2 [C] a narrow space or opening
UPK;
t; She peeped through the crack in the
curtains. M i§ il ® Pi) H1#' ^ IS. 0 o The door opened a crack (= a small amount), flpf T~
►
SOUND A B(fO 3 [C] a sudden loud noise ( ) &££
^(#1r>: a crack of thunder — p MW o the sharp crack of a rifle shot
►
HIT ili A 4 [C] - (on sth) a sharp blow that can be heard
( pf mf B|rIP W ) 11A, M.P: She fell over and got a nasty crack on the
head. M
-To
►
ATTEMPT #iit 5 [C] ~ (at sth) | ~ (at doing sth) (informal) an occasion when you try to
do sth A
attempt: She hopes to have another crack at the
world record this year.
►
DRUG w 6 (also crack co'caine) [U] a powerful, illegal drug that is a form of
cocaine itnlAS: a crack addict tyjiWflP AS J&0 A
►
JOKE Jjr, 7 [C] (informal) a joke, especially a critical one
( : He made a very unfair
crack about her looks. TMtft-fc+S, g
►
CONVERSATION A A 8 (also
erase)
[U,
sing.] (IrishE,
informal) a good time; friendly,
enjoyable talk
Where’s
the crack tonight? AB&AiPM p o He’s a person who enjoys a drink and a
bit of crack. ffeJil^XWIW^XSWAWA.
at the crack of
'dawn (informal) very early in the
morning ; yf|| — more at fair adj.
m adj. [only before noun] expert
and highly trained; excellent at sth«WtW; -«IW:
crack troops 1# rP
PA 0 He’s a crack
shot (= accurate and skilled at shooting).
crack-brained /'kraekbreind/ adj. (informal) crazy and unlikely to succeed a crackbrained
idea
crack-down /'kraekdaon/ noun ~ (on sb/sth) severe action taken to restrict the
activities of criminals or of people opposed to the government or sb in
authority H JEE: a military crackdown
on student protesters A WT-TISIi 0 a
crackdown
on crime
cracked o-w /kraekt/ adj.
1 damaged with lines in its surface but not completely broken ®ISUKj; W S W: a cracked mirror/mug
-g AjMT / ST 0 He suffered
cracked ribs and bruising, ftfe ffo'W&P&.W 0 0 She
passed her tongue over her cracked lips and tried to speak. TTSW
[IIII it iS 0 — picture o broken 2 (of sb’s voice n|| #) sounding rough with
sudden changes in how loud or high it is, because the person is upset ( 0 ‘I’m
just fine,’she
said in a cracked voice. IjSEf a ” MA
ililo 3 [not before
noun] (informal) crazy / think he must be cracked, don’t you?
T, MJiTJi?
.cracked
’wheat noun [u] grains of wheat that have been broken into small
pieces
Christmas
cracker
crack er /'kraeka(r)/ noun 1 a thin dry biscuit that is
often salty and usually eaten with cheese M St 1# T ( ) — see also cream
CRACKER, GRAHAM CRACKER 2 (also Christmas cracker) a tube of coloured paper
that makes a loud explosive sound when it is pulled open by two
people.
Crackers usually contain a paper hat, a small present and a joke, and are used
in
mm, Mi&xmm&):
who wants
to pull this cracker with me? it SI tv W|r] & T ? — see also firecracker 3 (BrE, informal) something that you think is very good,
funny, etc. ( iA A ) It'lAW#, Af f§7 frMT It was a cracker of a goal.
& $ iS % M ^ o 0 I’ve got a joke for you. It’s a real
cracker! fk in # i# T % % ft 7 ! 4 (NAmE,
slang) an offensive word for a poor white person
with little education from the southern
6 (old-fashioned, BrE, informal) an attractive woman T
MAlftAA; &A(HJ£T
cracker-jack /'kraek0d3aek; NAmE -kard3aek/ noun (NAmE, informal) an excellent person or thing th fe A; M^M ► crack-er-jack ad/',
crack-ers /'kraekaz; /s/Amf -karz/ ad/, [not before noun] (BrE, informal) crazy ^ JE; AS: That noise is driving me
crackers. $5ll)^llj#!lci!i.S^iC7o
crack-head
/'kraekhed/ noun (slang) a person who uses the illegal drug crack
' crack house
noun (in the
crack-inf /'kraekirj/ noun, adj.
m noun [U] 1 lines on a surface where
it is damaged or beginning to break ^ ^
S : All planes
are being inspected for possible cracking and
corrosion.
M$Lo 2 the sound of sth cracking MMP; :
the cracking of thunder/twigs If r; 1 W fl®