cricket
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a cricket on the hearth
A sign of good health and good fortune. I'm putting this cricket statuette here because a cricket on the hearth is supposed to bring good luck.
holy crickets
An exclamation of surprise, shock, or astonishment. Holy crickets, the bill for that dinner is nearly $200! We won the lottery? Holy crickets, that's amazing news!
it's just not cricket
It isn't fair, sportsmanlike, or legitimate. I know you want to avoid confrontation, but it's just not cricket to break up with someone by text message. You say it's just not cricket, but everyone else fluffs up their CV when they apply for a job.
it's not cricket
It isn't fair, sportsmanlike, or legitimate. I know you want to avoid confrontation, but it's not cricket to break up with someone by text message. I don't see why you think it's not cricket—everyone else does it all the time.
jiminy cricket
A minced oath for "Jesus Christ," expressing surprise, shock, or astonishment. Jiminy cricket, the bill for that dinner is nearly $200! We won the lottery? Jiminy cricket, that's amazing news!
See also: cricket
merry as a cricket
old-fashioned Jubilant; especially carefree, lively, and full of fun. Tom is playing outside, merry as a cricket. Though he acts as merry as a cricket, he is dreadfully unhappy when he is all alone.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2015 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
It's not cricket.
and It's not kosher.It's not done.; It's not acceptable. You can't do that! It's not cricket!
*merry as a cricket
and *merry as the day is longvery happy and carefree. (*Also: as ~.) Mary is as merry as a cricket whenever she has company come to call. The little children are as merry as the day is long.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
not cricket
Unfair, unsportsmanlike, as in It's not cricket to let him go without notice. This term, in which the sport of cricket is equated with upright behavior, survives in America despite the relative unfamiliarity of the sport there. [Mid-1800s]
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.
it's just not cricket
orit's not cricket
BRITISH, OLD-FASHIONEDPeople say it's just not cricket or it's not cricket to mean that someone's behaviour is unfair or unreasonable. Companies can't treat their staff like that — it's not cricket! Note: Cricket is traditionally associated with the values of fairness and respect for other players.
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012
not cricket
contrary to traditional standards of fairness or rectitude. British informalThe game of cricket, with its traditional regard for courtesy and fair play, has been a metaphor for these qualities since at least the mid 19th century.
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
it’s (just) not ˈcricket
(old-fashioned, British English, informal) it is not a fair or an honourable action or way of behavingFarlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
cricket
mod. acceptable. (See negative examples at not cricket.) Is it really cricket to play under two different names?
not cricket
mod. unfair; illegitimate; unorthodox. (See affirmative examples at cricket.) What do you mean it’s not cricket? You do it.
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
not cricket, it's/that's
Unsportsmanlike, unfair, dishonorable. Eric Partridge traced this term to 1867 but believed it was not widely used until the early twentieth century. Among the early references in print is Stanley Houghton’s 1914 play, The Partners, “. . . but it is not playing the game. In other words, Cynthia, it is not cricket.” Although cricket is a sport popular exclusively in Great Britain and most of its former colonies, the term crossed the Atlantic and became a cliché in the United States as well.
See also: not
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer
cricket on the hearth
A symbol of good luck and health. A cricket on the hearth has been a sign of household luck for millennia and in many cultures. Crickets were widely considered to bring good fortune as well as a kind of companionship. Representations of a cricket have long been included as a fireplace decoration. The expression “to find a cricket on the hearth is the luckiest thing of all” comes from Charles Dickens's novella, Cricket on the Hearth.
Endangered Phrases by Steven D. Price Copyright © 2011 by Steven D. Price