[crack of dawn] <n. phr.> The time in the morning when the sun's rays first appear. * /The rooster crows at the crack of dawn and wakes up everybody on the farm./

[cracked up] <adj. phr.>, <informal> Favorably described or presented; praised. - Usually used in the expression "not what it's cracked up to be". * /The independent writer's life isn't always everything it's cracked up to be./ * /In bad weather, a sailing cruise isn't what it's cracked up to be./

[cracking] See: GET CRACKING - at GET GOING(2).

[crackpot] <n.>, <attrib. adj.>, <informal> 1. <n.> An eccentric person with ideas that don't make sense to most other people. * /Don't believe what Uncle Noam tells you - he is a crackpot./ 2. <attrib. adj.> * /That's a crackpot idea./

[crack the whip] <v. phr.>, <informal> To get obedience or cooperation by threats of punishment. * /If the children won't behave when I reason with them, I have to crack the whip./

[crack up] <v.> 1. To wreck or be wrecked; smash up. * /The airplane cracked up in landing./ * /He cracked up his car./ 2. <informal> To become mentally ill under physical or mental overwork or worry. * /He had kept too busy for years, and when failures came, he cracked up./ * /It seemed to be family problems that made him crack up./ 3. Burst into laughter or cause to burst into laughter. * /That comedian cracks me up./

[cradle] See: ROB THE CRADLE.

[cradle robber], [cradle robbing] See: ROB THE CRADLE.

[cramp] See: WRITER'S CRAMP.

[cramp one's style] <v. phr.>, <informal> To limit your natural freedom; prevent your usual behavior; limit your actions or talk. * /He cramped his style a good deal when he lost his money./ * /Army rules cramped George's style./

[crash dive] <n.> A sudden dive made by a submarine to escape an enemy; a dive made to get deep under water as quickly as possible. * /The captain of the submarine told his crew to prepare for a crash dive when he saw the enemy battleship approaching./

[crash-dive] <v.> 1. To dive deep underwater in a submarine as quickly as possible. * /We shall crash-dive if we see enemy planes coming./ 2. To dive into (something) in an airplane. * /When the plane's motor was hit by the guns of the enemy battleship, the pilot aimed the plane at the ship and crash-dived into it./

[crash the gate] <v. phr.>, <slang> To enter without a ticket or without paying; attend without an invitation or permission. * /Bob got into the circus without paying. He crashed the gate./ * /Three boys tried to crash the gate at our party but we didn't let them in./

[craw] See: STICK IN ONE'S CRAW.

[crawl up] See: RIDE UP.

[crazy] or [mad] or [nuts about] <adj. phr.>, <informal> Excessively fond of; infatuated with. * /Jack is totally nuts about Liz, but she is not too crazy about him./

[cream] See: VANISHING CREAM.

[cream of the crop] <n. phr.> The best of a group; the top choice. * /May Queen candidates were lovely, but Betsy and Nancy were the cream of the crop./ * /The students had drawn many good pictures and the teacher chose the cream of the crop to hang up when the parents came to visit./

[creature of habit] <n. phr.> A person who does things out of habit rather than by thought. * /Our boss is a creature of habit, so let us not confuse him with too many new ideas./

[credibility gap] <n.>, <hackneyed phrase>, <politics> An apparent discrepancy between what the government says and what one can observe for oneself. * /There was a tremendous credibility gap in the USA during the Watergate years./

[credit] See: DO CREDIT.

[creek] See: UP THE CREEK or UP THE CREEK WITHOUT A PADDLE.

[creep] See: THE CREEPS.

[creep up on] <v.> 1. To crawl towards; move along near the ground; steal cautiously towards so as not to be seen or noticed. * /The mouse did not see the snake creeping up on it over the rocks./ * /Indians were creeping up on the house through the bushes./ 2. or [sneak up on] To come little by little; arrive slowly and unnoticed. * /The woman's hair was turning gray as age crept up on her./ * /Winter is creeping up on us little by little./ * /The boys didn't notice the darkness creeping up on them while they were playing./ Compare: COME OVER.

[crew] See: SECTION GANG or SECTION CREW.

[crew cut] or [crew haircut] <n.> A boy's or man's hair style, cut so that the hair stands up in short, stiff bristle. * /Many boys like to get crew cuts during the summer to keep cooler./

[crisp] See: BURN TO A CRISP.

[crocodile tears] <n.> Pretended grief; a show of sorrow that is not really felt. * /When his rich uncle died, leaving him his money, John shed crocodile tears./ (From the old legend that crocodiles make weeping sounds to attract victims and then shed tears while eating them.)

[crook] See: BY HOOK OR BY CROOK.

[crop] See: CASH CROP, CREAM OF THE CROP, STICK IN ONE'S CRAW or STICK IN ONE'S CROP.

[crop out] <v.> To appear at the surface; come through or show through from hiding or concealment. * /Rocks often crop out in New England pasture land./ * /A hidden hate cropped out in his words./

[cropper] See: COME A CROPPER.

[crop up] <v.> To come without warning; appear or happen unexpectedly. * /Problems cropped up almost every day when Mr. Reed was building his TV station./ * /Serious trouble cropped up just when Martin thought the problem of his college education was solved./ Compare: TURN UP.

[cross] See: AT CROSS PURPOSES, CARRY ONE'S CROSS, DOUBLE CROSS, KEEP ONE'S FINGERS CROSSED at CROSS ONE'S FINGERS(1b).

[cross a bridge before one comes to it] <v. phr.> To worry about future events or trouble before they happen. - Usually used in negative sentences, often as a proverb. * /"Can I be a soldier when I grow up, Mother?" asked Johnny. "Don't cross that bridge until you come to it," said his mother./ Compare: BORROW TROUBLE.

[cross-check(1)] <v.> To test the truth of by examining in different ways or by seeing different reports about. * /If you see something in a book that may not be true, be sure to crosscheck it in other books./

[cross-check(2)] <n.> The testing of the truth of by checking one report against another or others. * /A cross-check with other books will show us if this story is true./

[cross fire] <n.> 1. Firing in a fight or battle from two or more places at once so that the lines of fire cross. * /The soldiers on the bridge were caught in the crossfire coming from both sides of the bridge./ 2. Fast or angry talking back and forth between two or more people; also, a dispute; a quarrel. * /There was a cross fire of excited questions and answers between the parents and the children who had been lost in the woods./ * /The principal and the graduates quarreled about the football team, and the coach was caught in the cross fire and lost his job./

[cross one's fingers] <v. phr.> 1a. To cross two fingers of one hand for good luck. * /Mary crossed her fingers during the race so that Tom would win./ 11b. or [keep one's fingers crossed] <informal> To wish for good luck. * /Keep your fingers crossed while I take the test./ 2. To cross two fingers of one hand to excuse an untruth that you are telling. * /Johnny crossed his fingers when he told his mother the lie./

[cross one's heart] or [cross one's heart and hope to die] <v. phr.>, <informal> To say that what you have said is surely true; promise seriously that it is true. - Often used by children in the longer form. Children often make a sign of a cross over the heart as they say it, for emphasis. * /"Cross my heart, I didn't hide your bicycle," Harry told Tom./ * /"I didn't tell the teacher what you said. Cross my heart and hope to die," Mary said to Lucy./

[cross one's mind] or [pass through one's mind] <v. phr.> To be a sudden or passing thought; be thought of by someone; come to your mind; occur to you. * /At first Bob was puzzled by Virginia's waving, but then it crossed his mind that she was trying to tell him something./ * /When Jane did not come home by midnight, many terrible fears passed through Mother's mind./

[cross one's path] <v. phr.> To meet or encounter someone; to come upon someone more by accident than by plan. * /Surprisingly, I crossed John's path in Central Park one afternoon./

[cross street] <n.> A street that crosses a main street and runs on both sides of it. * /Elm Street is a cross street on Main Street and there is a traffic light there./ Compare: THROUGH STREET.

[cross swords] <v. phr.>, <literary> To have an argument with; fight. - Often used with "with". * /Don't argue with the teacher; you're not old enough to cross swords with her./

[cross the wire] <v. phr.> To finish a race. * /The Russian crossed the wire just behind the American./

[cross up] <v.>, <informal> 1. To block or upset; throw into confusion or disorder. * /We were going to catch him at the gate, but he crossed us up by going in the back way./ * /Father crossed up the surprise party we had planned for him by not getting back in time./ 2. To deceive or be false to. * /George crossed up his partner by selling a lot of things secretly./

[crow] See: EAT CROW.

[crow before one is out of the woods] <v. phr.> To be glad or brag before you are safe from danger or trouble. - Usually used in negative sentences, often as a proverb, "Don't crow before you are out of the woods." * /John thought his team would win because the game was almost over, but he didn't want to crow before they were out of the woods./ Often used in a short form, "out of the woods". * /Mary nearly died during the operation, and she is not out of the woods yet./

[crown jewels] <n. pl.> The crown, staff, and jewels used for the crowning of a king or queen; the crown and jewels representing royal power and authority. * /The crown jewels are handed down from one king to the next when the new king is crowned./

[crow to pick] See: BONE TO PICK or CROW TO PICK.

[crust] See: UPPER CRUST.

[crux of the matter] <n. phr.> The basic issue at hand; the core essence that one must face. * /The crux of the matter is that he is incompetent and we will have to fire him./

[cry] See: FAR CRY, FOR CRYING OUT LOUD, HUE AND CRY.

[cry] or [scream bloody murder] <v. phr.> To bitterly and loudly complain against an indignity. * /Pete cried bloody murder when he found out that he didn't get the promotion he was hoping for./

[cry before one is hurt] or [holler before one is hurt] <v. phr.>, <informal> To complain when there is no reason for it; become upset because you are worried or afraid. - Used in negative sentences. * /When Billy went to the barber, he began to cry before the barber cut his hair and his father told him not to cry before he was hurt./ Often used as a proverb. * /John was worried because he would soon have a new boss. His mother said, "Don't cry before you're hurt!"/ Syn.: BORROW TROUBLE.

[cry buckets] <v. phr.> To shed an excessive amount of tears. * /Grandma is crying buckets over the loss of our cat./

[cry for] or [cry out for] <v.>, <informal> To need badly; be lacking in. * /It has not rained for two weeks and the garden is crying for it./ * /The school is crying out for good teachers./

[cry out] <v.> 1. To call out loudly; shout; scream. * /The woman in the water cried out "Help!"/ 2. To complain loudly; protest strongly. - Used with "against". * /Many people are crying out against the new rule./

[cry out for] See: CRY FOR.

[cry over spilled milk] or [cry over spilt milk] <v. phr.>, <informal> To cry or complain about something that has already happened; be unhappy about something that cannot be helped. * /After the baby tore up Sue's picture book, Sue's mother told her there was no use crying over spilled milk./ * /You have lost the game but don't cry over spilt milk./ Compare: MAKE ONE'S BED AND LIE IN IT, WATER OVER THE DAM or WATER UNDER THE BRIDGE.

[crystal ball] <n.> A ball, usually made of quartz crystal (glass) that is used by fortune-tellers. * /The fortune-teller at the fair looked into her crystal ball and told me that I would take a long trip next year./ 2. Any means of predicting the future. * /My crystal ball tells me you'll be making the honor roll./

[crystal gazing] <n.> The attempt to predict future events. * /The magician's specialty was crystal gazing./

[cry uncle] See: SAY UNCLE.

[cry wolf] <v. phr.> To give a false alarm; warn of a danger that you know is not there. * /The general said that the candidate was just crying wolf when he said that the army was too weak to fight for the country./ (From an old story about a shepherd boy who falsely claimed a wolf was killing his sheep, just to start some excitement.)

[cub scout] <n.> A member of the Cub Scouts, the junior branch of the Boy Scouts for boys 8-10 years of age. * /Jimmie is only seven, too young to be a Cub Scout./

[cucumber] See: COOL AS A CUCUMBER.

[cudgel] See: TAKE UP THE CUDGELS FOR.

[cudgel one's brains] See: BEAT ONE'S BRAINS OUT.

[cue in] <v. phr.>, <informal> To add new information to that which is already known. * /Let's not forget to cue in Joe on what has been happening./

[cuff] See: OFF-THE-CUFF, ON THE CUFF.

[culture vulture] <n.>, <slang>, <informal> A person who is an avid cultural sightseer, one who seeks out cultural opportunities ostentatiously, such as going to the opera or seeing every museum in a town visited, and brags about it. * /Aunt Mathilda is a regular culture vulture; she spends every summer in a different European capital going to museums and operas./

[cup] See: IN ONE'S CUPS.

[cup of tea] also [dish of tea] <n. phr.>, <informal> 1. Something you enjoy or do well at; a special interest, or favorite occupation. Used with a possessive. * /You could always get him to go for a walk: hiking was just his cup of tea./ Compare: DOWN ONE'S ALLEY. 2. Something to think about; thing; matter. * /That's another cup of tea./ Compare: KETTLE OF FISH.

[curb service] <n.> Waiting on customers while they sit in their cars. * /Families with small children often look for hamburger stands that offer curb service./

[curiosity killed the cat] <informal> Getting too nosy may lead a person into trouble. - A proverb. * /"Curiosity killed the cat," Fred's father said, when he found Fred hunting around in closets just before Christmas./

[curl] See: PIN CURL.

[curl one's hair] <v. phr.>, <slang> To shock; frighten; horrify; amaze. * /Wait till you read what it says about you - this'll curl your hair./ * /The movie about monsters from another planet curled his hair./

[curl up] <v.> 1a. To become curly or wavy. * /Bacon curls up when it is cooked./ 1b. To roll oneself into a ball. * /Tim curled up in bed and was asleep in five minutes./ 2. See: FOLD UP.

[current] See: SWIM AGAINST THE CURRENT.

[curry favor] <v.> To flatter or serve someone to get his help or friendship. * /Joe tried to curry favor with the new teacher by doing little services that she didn't really want./ * /Jim tried to curry favor with the new girl by telling her she was the prettiest girl in the class./ Compare: POLISH THE APPLE.

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