■ adjective ( crankier , crankiest ) informal
1》 Brit. eccentric or strange.
2》 chiefly N. Amer. ill-tempered; irritable.
3》 (of a machine) working erratically.
Derivatives
crankily adverb
crankiness noun
Origin
C18 (in the sense 'sickly, in poor health'): perh. ult. from Du. or Ger. krank 'sick'.