crack a book
To open a book. Often used in the negative. I really need to study for that test on Monday because I haven't cracked a book all weekend. I had just sat down and cracked a book, when my kids came in and interrupted me. I didn't crack a book at all while I was sick, so now I have to catch up on all the assignments I missed. Ugh.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
crack a book
Fig. to open a book to study. (Usually used with a negative.) I never cracked a book and still passed the course. Sally didn't crack a book all semester.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
crack a book
Open a book to study or read, as in He passed the exam without cracking a book. This expression employs the verb to crack in the sense of "to open," a slang usage that dates from the early 1700s. [Colloquial; c. 1930]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
crack a book
or crack open a book
AMERICANIf you crack a book or crack open a book, you open it in order to read it. He had never cracked a single book on criminal law, and yet he had to defend them in a court. Just crack open a book and try to relax.
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012
crack a book
open a book and read it; study. North American informalFarlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
crack a book
tv. to open a book to study. (Usually in the negative.) I never cracked a book and still passed the course.
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.