crack (redirected from cracking wise)

at the crack of dawn

very early in the morning. We had an early flight so we were up at the crack of dawn.

See also: dawn

crack a book (American, informal)

to open a book in order to study. I haven't seen her crack a book and the French test is tomorrow. (usually negative)

See also: book

crack a smile (informal)

to smile, especially when you do not feel like smiling. The man barely cracked a smile at his friend's joke. (usually negative)

See also: smile

crack the whip

to use your authority to make someone work harder, usually by threatening or punishing them. We were already three months behind schedule so I thought it was time to crack the whip.

See also: whip

fall/slip through the cracks

to get lost or be forgotten, especially within a system. It seems that important information given to the police may have fallen through the cracks.

See also: fall, slip, through

get a crack at something

have/take a crack at something - to try to do something although you are not certain that you will succeed. Don't worry, you'll all get a crack at using the camera.

get/have a fair crack of the whip

give someone a fair crack of the whip - to give someone an opportunity to do something. We'll take turns to host the conference. That way we'll all get a fair crack of the whip.

See also: fair, whip

give someone a fair crack of the whip (British & Australian, informal)

to give someone an opportunity to do something. Will you make sure all the speakers are given a fair crack of the whip in the debate?

See also: fair, give, whip

a hard/tough nut to crack

a difficult problem to solve. A company whose product has sold well in the States may find the European market a tougher nut to crack.

See also: hard, nut, tough

have/take a crack at something

to try to do something although you are not certain that you will succeed. He didn't win the tennis championships, but he plans to have another crack at it next year.

See also: take

paper/smooth over the cracks

to hide problems or faults, especially arguments between people, in order to make a situation seem better than it really is. The two-party coalition has so far been successful in papering over the cracks. I'm tired of smoothing over the cracks in our marriage - I want a divorce! (sometimes + in)

See also: over, paper, smooth

use a sledgehammer to crack a nut (British & Australian)

to do something with more force than is necessary to achieve the result you want. Sending ten men to arrest one small boy was a clear case of using a sledgehammer to crack a nut.

See also: nut, use

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at the crack of dawn

very early in the morning. We had an eight o'clock flight so we were up at the crack of dawn.

See also: dawn

crack down (on someone/something)

to take strong action to stop something bad from continuing. The university is taking steps to crack down on underage drinking on campus. Countries that used to ignore terrorist groups in their midst are starting to crack down.

See also: down

crack the whip

to use your authority to cause people to do more or do what you want. He is one editor who knows how to crack the whip, so his authors generally hand in their assignments on time.

See also: whip

crack up

1. to laugh. She was very funny and we cracked up every time she said anything.

2. to become mentally ill. I lost my appetite, became unable to sleep, and worried that I was cracking up.

fall through the cracks

to be not noticed or dealt with. Obviously too many young people fall through the cracks in the healthcare system.

See also: fall, through

have (the) first crack at something

to have the first chance to try to do something. If you want to sell your share of the business, our company would have first crack at buying it.

Usage notes: sometimes used in the forms get a crack at something or have a crack at something have a chance to do something: He was lucky to get a crack at managing the firm.

See also: first

take a crack at something/doing something

to try to do something. Ford said he had always wanted to take a crack at writing a novel.

Usage notes: sometimes used in the forms take another crack at something or have another crack at something: He couldn't go this year but plans to have another crack at it next year.

See also: take