m adj. [usually before noun] (BrE, informal) excellent it ft That
was a cracking goal. SSjtS# o
She’s in cracking form at the
moment. M S £ JL F& £F M 7 » 0
We set off at a
cracking pace (= very quickly). 3£ O
& Hfe ttj %1.
►
crack ing adv.: a cracking good (=
extremely good) dinner
crackle /'kraekl/
verb, noun
mverb [V] to make short sharp sounds like sth
that is burning in a fire ( # )
A'JSf^A,
r$ i$ P|p]: A Zog /ire crackled in the
hearth, ^ A (ft A 15c f^P|B|o 0 The radio crackled into life. ffi|
noun [U, C] a series of short sharp sounds (•—S A (ft ) nW
P ; M Hi ® (ft B|rJ A : the
distant crackle of machine-gun fire jjs &L #1 t3
II M HI r ► crack-ly /‘kraekli/ ad/'. : She picked up the phone and
heard a crackly voice saying: ‘Sue here. ’
M A 32 % , hJt III “ A
unmito ” ,
crack-ling /'kraeklir)/
noun 1 [U, sing.] a series of
sharp sounds ( —) MMP., He could hear the
crackling of burning trees. i&ajVf
off JEM A
2 [U] (BrE)
{
crack-nel /'kraeknal/
noun 1 [C] a type of crisp biscuit
that is not sweet ft Stf ^ (ft $ BH T 2 [U, C] a sweet made from
a flat, crisp piece of sugar, often with nuts in
crack-pot /'kraekpnt;
NAmE -part/ noun (informal) a person with strange or crazy ideas A > crack-pot ad/. [only before noun]: crackpot
ideas/ theories
-cracy
combining
form (in
nouns is]) the
govern
ment or rule of • Eft A; -iftlA/fr: democracy
ift# o bureaucracy W f£J£$!] cra dle /'kreidl/ noun, verb
• noun 1 a small bed for a baby which can be pushed
gently from side to side M M: She rocked the baby to sleep in its
cradle. MMz&SjM^^JLASIo
—picture o cot 2 [usually
sing.] ~ of sth the place where sth
important began
cradle of Western civilization #^
3 {BrE)
a small platform that can be moved up and down the outside of a high building,
used by people cleaning windows, etc. ( ft & Ft Ft M P % W )
ffil 4 the
part of a telephone on which the receiver
rests (. ife iff #1W ) iff fl$NH, X ft A 35
IfiTOI from the .cradle
to the grave a way
of referring to the whole of a person’s life, from birth until death ——ttt;
JAASJft — more at rob ■
verb [VN] to hold sb/sth gently
in your arms or hands $£ $£ ir: The old man cradled the tiny baby in his
arms.
'cradle
cap noun [U] a skin condition that
causes dry rough yellow areas on top of a baby’s head ILfSti cradle-snatcher (BrE) {NAmE cradle-robber) noun {disapproving) a person who has a sexual relationship
with a much younger person %ftgSA$H#=£[ftAX ► 'cradle-snatch {BrE) {NAmE ’cradle-rob)
verb [V]
Craft 0-w /kra:ft; NAmE kraeft/ noun, verb nnoun 1 [C, U] an activity involving a special skill
at making things with your hands A- A ; I A: traditional crafts like
basket-weaving ft^MTA^lft'ft^X A o a craft fair/workshop AXAnTXJFA / rl'JftAlB] o Craft, Design
and Technology {= a subject in some British schools) XA, lftf4
g ) — see also arts and crafts 2 [sing.] all the skills needed
for a particular activity ft Vj ; ft f||;
ft "£ : chefs who learned their craft in top hotels ft
ft Ust
o the
writer’s craft ^ffcft?5 3 [U] (formal, disapproving) skill in making people
believe what you want them to believe ijaif;
AJlft; iJIA: He knew how to win by craft and diplomacy what he could not gain by
force.
I'JWAffio 4 [C] {pi. craft) a boat or
ship A $&;
$ft: Hundreds of
small craft bobbed around the liner as it steamed into the harbour. P N", Jnl BH Ift
0 a landing/pleasure craft &K / 5 [C] {pi. craft) an aircraft
or spacecraft U/tl;
~m; MAfl; MAXm
■ verb [VN] [usually passive] to
make sth using special skills, especially with your hands ( A ta H AI ) M # nm fashion : All the furniture is crafted from
natural materials. 0
a carefully crafted speech If 4> ^ (ft Wr iS — see also
HANDCRAFTED
‘craft knife noun {BrE) a very sharp knife used for
cutting paper or thin pieces of wood ; III AA crafts man /’kraiftsman; NAmE ‘kraef-/ (also crafts- person) noun {pi. -men /-man/) a skilled person,
especially one who makes beautiful things by hand X E; AAA; X A !lfp : rugs handmade by local craftsmen &^ifeXA!liFAXf|iJt^(lAh:tef£
0 It is clearly
the work of a master craftsman. ^IBJfijiJiXAAlJipWf^nPo —see also
CRAFTSWOMAN
crafts man ship /’kra:ftsmanjip; NAmE 'kraef-/ noun [u] 1 the level of skill shown by
sb in making sth beautiful with their hands A A; & A : The whole house is a monument to
her craftsmanship. iPH® AUMftAlW —® 2 the quality of design and work shown by
sth that has been made by hand : the superb
craftsmanship of the carvings ^Ml!'J /m &A X A
crafts-person /'kra:ftsp3:sn; NAmE 'kraeftsp3:rsn/ noun (pi -people /-pi:pl/) = CRAFTSMAN crafts-woman /'kra:ftswoman; NAmE ’kraef-/ noun (pi -women /-wimin/) a skilled woman,
especially one who makes beautiful things by hand AXE; A A A A; A J5E; AXAW
craft-work /‘kra:ftw3:k; NAmE 'kraeftw3irk/ noun [U] work done by a craftsman
XA/m crafty /'kra:fti; NAmE 'kraefti/ adj. (craft-ier, crafti est) (usually disapproving) clever at getting what you
want, especially by indirect or dishonest methods Vj (tfj;
( AJa ) EEEa CUNNING, WILY:
He’s
a crafty old devil. 0 one of
the party’s craftiest political strategists W
iElio ► craft-ily adv. crafti-ness noun [U]
crag /kraeg/ noun a high steep rough mass
of rock M Jl; iliIH; a castle set on a crag above the village
texttx±Afcii±imm
craggy /kraegi/ adj. 1 having many crags
^ ilil H ; it ilil ^ : a craggy coastline |A ill 'M A 2 (usually approving) (of a man’s
face A (ft M) having strong features and deep lines craic noun = crack(8)
cram /kraem/ verb ( mm-) 1 - (sth) into/onto sth | ~ (sth) in to push
or force sb/sth into a small space; to move into a small space with the result that
it is full
JE-lUft; ; Hit: [VN] He crammed eight people into
his car. fife®
fifelftAMfiflljittAAAo 0 I could never cram in all that she does in a day. ‘X
£ |Z)
l#[ W A 'Hr o O I managed to cram down a few mouthfuls
of food. /IP AM „ o
Supporters
crammed the streets. o [V]
We
all managed to cram into his car. |lcd A15^#?
ST II W T o [also VN-ADJ] 2 [V] ~ (for sth) (rather old-fashioned) to learn a lot of things in
a short time, in preparation for an exam ( EWfl
swot: He’s been
cramming for his exams all week.
crammed /kraemd/ adj. ~ (with sb/sth) 1 full of things or people M ffli W it (ft : All the shelves were crammed with
books. 0 The
room was crammed full of people, je] M ^ T A 0 H771 packed o The article was crammed full of ideas.
2 [not before noun] if
people are crammed into a
place, there is not much room for them in it $|$FAA ETTC1 packed: We were crammed four to an office. M]®
A A#F& —M
fo'&MM.o