crack a book

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.

See also: book, crack

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2015 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.

See also: book, crack

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]

See also: book, crack

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

AMERICAN

If 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.

See also: book, crack

Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012

crack a book

open a book and read it; study. North American informal

See also: book, crack

Farlex 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.

See also: book, crack

McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.