I. verb
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
a clap/crash/crack of thunder (= one extremely loud sound )
▪
Lightning flickered across the sky, followed seconds later by a loud crack of thunder.
a gurgling/whistling/cracking etc noise (= a noise with a particular kind of sound )
▪
The water moved through the pipes with a loud gurgling noise.
at the crack of dawn (= very early in the morning )
▪
I was up at the crack of dawn to get the plane.
break/crack a code (= discover how to understand a code )
▪
The Enigma machine was used to crack the enemy codes.
crack house
crack/collapse/buckle etc under the strain (= become unable to continue normally because of the strain )
▪
They are worried that the court system might collapse under the strain.
cracked...whip
▪
The coachman cracked his whip and the carriage lurched forward.
cracking nuts (= opening them )
▪
We were sitting round the fire cracking nuts .
elite/crack troops (= the best, most skilled or most experienced troops )
▪
The general's headquarters is guarded by crack troops.
glass cracks
▪
Glass will crack if too much pressure is put on it.
ice cracks
▪
We could feel the ice cracking beneath our feet.
sb’s voice breaks/cracks (= becomes higher or unsteady because they are upset )
▪
Her voice broke and she was unable to continue.
seal a joint/crack/opening/gap
▪
A quick way to seal awkward gaps is to use a foam filler.
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADVERB
down
▪
The former general campaigned on two policies: cracking down on crime and tackling corruption.
▪
He adds that there also is a push to crack down on magazines and newspapers that advertise the devices.
▪
Synod members were under pressure to crack down on gay clergy, who were portrayed as leading lives of wild abandon!
▪
Airlines reportedly are cracking down on this thriving but illegal trade.
▪
But conservative lobbying and fears of a voter backlash have prompted the government to crack down .
▪
The authorities have been reluctant to crack down on pachinko for other reasons as well.
▪
The U. S. Department of Labor has cracked down on wage violations in the past four years.
open
▪
After a few minutes he managed to crack open the lock with a kitchen knife.
▪
She refused the porter's offer to crack open the bottle, and settled herself for a long wait.
▪
From 27 February, eight score draws will no longer be enough to crack open the champagne.
up
▪
She'd never get through the ordeal without cracking up completely.
▪
He routinely cuts his assistant in half, then cracks up his audience with a bit of rib-tickling humor.
▪
Whatever happened she mustn't crack up .
▪
When Joseph told it to me, I cracked up .
▪
Janir and Matt were cracking up .
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Then I sow one of my colleagues die from a heart attack and two others crack up under the strain.
▪
This concrete path is cracking up under the strain of thousands of paws padding over it.
■ NOUN
bottle
▪
She refused the porter's offer to crack open the bottle , and settled herself for a long wait.
code
▪
But how are we to interpret the symbolism of other cultures; how can we crack their symbolic codes ?
▪
He cracked that code in a hurry!
▪
Once the team has cracked this bidding code , they should be able to subvert it.
▪
Cecil Phillips thrived on the cerebral challenge of cracking Soviet codes .
▪
Paul used his computer to crack the code and continued as before.
▪
What they must do to achieve that is crack the code that enables them to win the big match.
crime
▪
But it's not though they've cracked one big crime ring.
▪
The 1995 law punishes crack cocaine crimes 100 times more severely than powder cocaine crimes, the association said.
▪
The former general campaigned on two policies: cracking down on crime and tackling corruption.
▪
In Wiltshire trading standards officers have made an important breakthrough in cracking the crime .
egg
▪
Drain and refresh immediately in cold water, cracking the egg shells to allow the eggs to cool more quickly. 3.
▪
If ever a sledge hammer had been used to crack an egg , this was the time.
▪
The vulture is manipulating the stone and using it as an extension of its beak to crack the egg .
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His notion of cracking an egg is to shoot an atomic blast at it.
▪
He cracked some eggs into a saucepan, adding milk and butter.
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The sides of the bus were soon cracking with rocks and eggs .
▪
Brown Owl let me and my friend crack an egg in a bowl.
government
▪
But conservative lobbying and fears of a voter backlash have prompted the government to crack down.
▪
Now the Government has proposed to crack down on mileage allowances by taxing drivers who cover large distances.
head
▪
Leonora flinched as his head cracked painfully against the lintel.
▪
He struck me hard across the mouth so that my head cracked back against the bathroom wall.
▪
The dead man fell backwards, his head cracking against the lap of a stone buddha.
joke
▪
Since the stonemasons were usually allowed to create their own designs, they were also given the freedom to crack good jokes .
▪
I cracked jokes , told stories, performed little tricks with the silverware.
▪
Maxie Carlo must've cracked a joke .
▪
Both laughed delightedly, as if I had cracked some very funny joke .
▪
And he was clean and tidy now, and civil, and could even crack a joke .
▪
Before tempers flared, Dutriz cracked a joke , and talk returned to the news.
▪
When he cracks a joke or whatever he does in front of the class, he just turn round and laugh.
▪
Mike and his robots maintain their sanity by cracking jokes during the movie.
knuckle
▪
Karma Rubbish smokes at the end of the garden, cracking its knuckles to pass the time.
▪
He sighed a lot, stretched his legs, cracked his knuckles .
▪
Dennis put his glass down and cracked his knuckles dramatically.
▪
It felt like he was cracking a knuckle .
▪
Wishart rubbed his hands together, cracking his knuckles as he tried to control his anger.
▪
Between moves he cracked his knuckles .
▪
Tom was trembling, sitting on the edge of a chair cracking his knuckles .
nut
▪
Already highly successful in popular music, dance and commercial television, blacks have found the movies a tougher nut to crack .
▪
Beverley was a tougher nut to crack .
▪
West Ham will be a tough nut to crack especially with big Lee in good form at the moment.
▪
One glance was all it took to realise this was one hard nut to crack - his features still completely impassive.
▪
He who eats the nut must first crack the shell Jeremy Cherfas Walnuts come in hard and convoluted shells.
problem
▪
The consortium's spokesman Chris Rowley claims his group is the only one to have cracked the retuning problem .
▪
Our fishermen had cracked the problem .
▪
But I've cracked the collection problem .
▪
Apple themselves had already cracked the communications problem with the AppleTalk network.
rib
▪
It nicked a lung and probably cracked a rib , but it didn't open the abdomen.
▪
I left my body while he did in my cracked ribs .
▪
He was reported to have also suffered cracked ribs and a broken jaw as a result of the difference of opinion.
▪
Glavine cracked a rib three years ago and missed one start.
▪
Once he had actually cracked her rib .
▪
A couple of weeks later the male chorus danced straight into him, elbows akimbo, and cracked his ribs .
▪
Coulthard, who despite x-rays to the contrary believes he has cracked a rib , made only passing reference to the discomfort.
seal
▪
Bowman cracked the seal , and pressed the button.
shot
▪
Koeman was involved everywhere and cracked in a 35-yard shot which cannoned back off the post after 48 minutes.
▪
He crossed from the left and when Freestone failed to cut out the ball Ryan pounced to crack in a shot .
▪
Beresford fed the ball in to Robert Lee, who turned and cracked a shot against the crossbar.
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I still have vivid memories of Chappy bursting between two defenders and cracking a shot against the bar.
skull
▪
You could crack your skull on that intractable stone, or it could scoop out spoonfuls of flesh.
▪
Donlan suffered a cracked skull and his nasal septum was pushed out of place.
▪
He has also cracked his skull and still carries the scar.
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If he had smiled a moment sooner Hicks would have cracked his skull .
▪
John Charlton fell heavily, cracking his skull on a kerbstone.
▪
I cracked his skull with a club, and they say it shook his brain loose.
▪
Unfortunately, leaping from my seat in the dugout, I cracked my skull on its roof and the world turned black.
smile
▪
Terence's face went from being startled by his attack to astonishment, then might have cracked into a smile .
▪
The model they kept in mind was the Hewlett-Packard 3000, a minicomputer that had never cracked a smile in its life.
▪
Red cracks a smile and moves on to get her due from the bench.
strain
▪
One of the professional golfers had cracked under the strain yesterday.
▪
The ruling Gaullists and the Communists alike were in danger of cracking under the strain of the May Events.
▪
Then I sow one of my colleagues die from a heart attack and two others crack up under the strain .
▪
This concrete path is cracking up under the strain of thousands of paws padding over it.
voice
▪
Dole himself, his voice cracking , can barely get through his words: This is a great honor for Bob Dole.
▪
The boys' voices had cracked and deepened.
▪
The voice cracked around her like a bullwhip.
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My voice almost cracked as I made a little speech thanking them.
▪
Michael Portillo seemed ill at ease, and his voice squeaked and cracked like a choirboy.
▪
But forgive him if his voice cracks or he stumbles over a word.
▪
She said his name, and her voice cracked .
▪
But at 13, his voice cracked .
whip
▪
Then the horn, and a hound yelped briefly as a whip cracked .
▪
Trumpets sounded, drums beat, whips cracked , mules squealed, and teamsters cursed.
▪
The sheeting - you know, the polythene sounded like whips cracking when the wind got into it.
window
▪
Two shots were fired at the wall, cracking the front window .
■ VERB
begin
▪
The international banking system began to crack .
▪
But having so little elasticity, that crust has also begun to crack .
▪
If tortillas begin cracking or breaking as you fold them, briefly heat them to soften.
hear
▪
He could hear the wings cracking , like whips beating the air.
▪
Meanwhile, have you ever heard Payton or Kemp crack a joke?
start
▪
But, three months later, the paint has started to crack and flake.
▪
Now the tunneling goes by, and my building starts cracking and sinking into the ground.
▪
So now your dream starts to crack .
▪
It is a nation with a contented image of itself that could be starting to crack .
try
▪
He has tried to crack down on corruption.
▪
They also have become a popular target for local legislators trying to crack down on gun violence.
▪
I may even try to crack Stanford.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
a hairline crack/fracture
▪
She had a hairline fracture in her leg.
▪
I was worried about a hairline fracture, but luckily it was just a bad lump.
▪
The specialist he consulted on Monday diagnosed a hairline fracture of his right wrist and wants to take another look on Friday.
a hard/tough nut to crack
▪
Daytime television is a tough nut to crack. New shows have to be good enough to beat the old favorites.
▪
Already highly successful in popular music, dance and commercial television, blacks have found the movies a tougher nut to crack.
▪
Beverley was a tougher nut to crack.
▪
West Ham will be a tough nut to crack especially with big Lee in good form at the moment.
give sb a fair crack of the whip
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪
A few windows cracked from the heat during the fire.
▪
A stone hit the windshield and cracked it.
▪
A strong earthquake cracked buildings in northwest China.
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Cowboys cracked their whips as they herded cattle.
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Detectives finally cracked the murder case.
▪
Don't put delicate china in the dishwasher - it may crack .
▪
Freeman cracked his skull in the accident.
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Give Tom a mathematical puzzle and he'll just keep on trying till he cracks it.
▪
Harding missed seven weeks of baseball practice after cracking a rib.
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He slipped and cracked his head on the steps.
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Her stiff joints cracked as she got out of her easy chair.
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Historians used the Rosetta stone to crack the code of Egyptian hieroglyphics.
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Hold the egg in your hand and gently crack the shell with a knife.
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I cracked one of the wine glasses when I was washing it.
▪
If I don't get some time off soon, I'll be so stressed I'll crack up.
▪
It's a tough case but I'm determined to crack it.
▪
It's the first time the Spartans have cracked the top 20 in the rankings.
▪
Jim cracked his head on the bottom of the bunkbed.
▪
Mary cracked her knee on the corner of her desk.
▪
Milken's voice cracked on the first word. "Guilty, your honor."
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪
But forgive him if his voice cracks or he stumbles over a word.
▪
From 27 February, eight score draws will no longer be enough to crack open the champagne.
▪
Hereford usually crack or collapse in the dying minutes.
▪
Koeman was involved everywhere and cracked in a 35-yard shot which cannoned back off the post after 48 minutes.
▪
The international banking system began to crack .
▪
The sheeting - you know, the polythene sounded like whips cracking when the wind got into it.
▪
This would be the day that I finally cracked the North Shore.
II. noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADJECTIVE
fine
▪
The glazed surface of the dish was a network of fine cracks .
▪
And it works well, the fine cracks in its surface merely adding to the character of the bass.
▪
Clinging to very fine cracks or imperfections is also out: geckos can cope with polished glass.
▪
Finally we locate the top pitch, a fine crack and poorly protected traverse.
▪
The textured version hides fine surface cracks , and is available in white and three colours.
▪
Griffith therefore postulated that ordinary glass is full of very fine cracks , too small to be seen by any ordinary means.
loud
▪
A strong wind was now blowing and there was a loud crack of thunder.
▪
Just as they reached it, the hinges surrendered and ripped loose with a loud crack .
▪
With a loud splintering crack the canoe broke, ending all hopes of damaging enemy shipping.
▪
The glass exploded with a loud shot-like crack .
sharp
▪
Sometimes a sharp crack and something falling into darkness.
▪
The umbrella fell to the floor with a sharp crack of the ferrule on the tile.
▪
We're used to the sharp cracks of lightning and the belch of thunder issuing from the belly of the sky.
▪
The bomb detonated with a sharp crack , sending tiny but razor-sharp pieces of metal into the backs of the gun crews.
▪
I was telling myself that it would soon be over when I heard a sharp crack .
▪
Her head hit the concrete with a sharp crack .
▪
The battle did not last long, bursts of automatic fire interspersed with the sharp purposeful cracks of single shots.
▪
The sharp crack of the pistol always brought her awake, cold and shivering.
small
▪
A.22 makes only a small crack .
▪
Over time, the surface becomes rougher and small cracks will open.
▪
Make sure that there are no small cracks or openings through which the emerging adult insect can escape.
▪
Golden brown mussels covered the walls of the main fissure and were heaped in mounds over smaller cracks between lobes of lava.
▪
Recently, a small crack appeared in our pedestal hand basin in the bathroom.
thin
▪
Part of its appeal stemmed from the Tom Bass fountain inset into its wall, a long thin crack in the stone.
▪
Perhaps it's just that we don't have enough of those long, thin granite cracks .
tiny
▪
A very tiny crack appeared in Jess's armour.
▪
But a tiny , treacherous crack of doubt had opened in his mind.
▪
She smashed down hard against it with the hammer, and the window shook, tiny cracks appeared like earthquake faults.
▪
There is only a tiny crack of light under the door.
■ NOUN
hairline
▪
The wind still managed to find a way through the hairline crack , whistling eerily around the interior of the freight car.
▪
A hairline crack runs down through the middle of the glass.
■ VERB
appear
▪
However, if cracks do appear , you should try brushing a mixture of peat or compost and coarse sand into them.
▪
When a crack appears in a strained material it will open up a little so that the two faces of the crack are separated.
▪
But it was after he'd given her the ring that the cracks had begun to appear in her façade.
▪
Two rows of pegs decorated her succulent crack , making it appear she had a wooden hedgehog between her legs.
▪
As the salt crust thins, so cracks appear in the surface and the flats begin to break up.
▪
In hot summer weather this frequently happens and, when drying is rapid, hair cracks appear .
fall
▪
It was also harder for students to fall through the cracks .
▪
Still, some children fall through the cracks .
▪
A handful of people fell between the cracks of the Great Divide.
fill
▪
Patches of ice and snow had begun to fill the crack in the ground.
▪
Hot magma from the mantle would rise to the surface to fill in the crack .
▪
Cracked rendering How do you fill cracks in rendering?
▪
Socks and rags filled the cracks under the doors and around the windows.
▪
But whatever he did, the Jaguar was always there, filling any crack in the traffic with stately inevitability.
▪
Most of us assume that government does the important things and voluntary efforts fill in the cracks .
get
▪
In this way the boys in the field still get a crack at the business.
▪
Davis represented a future in which everyone got a crack at the clock.
▪
It was the daylight, what bit that was getting through the cracks of the curtains.
▪
And then by the time they get their first crack at deducing who the polecat is, they will be in custody.
▪
You didn't have to get up at the crack of dawn to work out yardages.
▪
Cardholders get a crack at a jackpot drawing March 7 and other prizes.
▪
Now a huge gash exposes the tree's dark innards, and the wind has got into its cracks .
▪
Do not get mixture into the cracks .
hear
▪
He heard the clean crack of a leg bone but did not lose consciousness.
▪
Corrigan heard the crack of wood.
▪
As Isaacs continued around Hungerford's narrow streets, he heard the crack of gunfire, at about 9.50.
▪
I squeeze the trigger, recoil, smell the metallic smoke, hear the shotgun crack .
▪
Lampard released the brake as soon as he heard the fierce crack of the first grenade.
▪
Constance heard the crack of his skull and his cry of pain.
▪
I was telling myself that it would soon be over when I heard a sharp crack .
▪
She heard the crack of another can opening behind her.
sell
▪
Police recently uncovered a ring that was selling crack through two girls living in the tiny town of Downs, population 620.
show
▪
I had a second X-ray on my injury last week and it showed that the crack had healed.
▪
It was firm in adversity, especially the well-designed addition, which showed no cracks at all.
slip
▪
Fog had slipped through a crack into the ivory tower.
▪
But somehow her name had slipped through some bureaucratic crack .
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
a hairline crack/fracture
▪
She had a hairline fracture in her leg.
▪
I was worried about a hairline fracture, but luckily it was just a bad lump.
▪
The specialist he consulted on Monday diagnosed a hairline fracture of his right wrist and wants to take another look on Friday.
a hard/tough nut to crack
▪
Daytime television is a tough nut to crack. New shows have to be good enough to beat the old favorites.
▪
Already highly successful in popular music, dance and commercial television, blacks have found the movies a tougher nut to crack.
▪
Beverley was a tougher nut to crack.
▪
West Ham will be a tough nut to crack especially with big Lee in good form at the moment.
give sb a fair crack of the whip
paper over the cracks
▪
Conversely, if you have been papering over the cracks of a relationship these same eclipses will seek them out.
▪
He did his best to paper over the cracks.
▪
King Birendra enjoyed considerable popularity, which enabled him to paper over the cracks in his divided kingdom.
▪
The private finance initiative has not papered over the cracks, although it has lined plenty of pockets.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪
Cracks began to appear in the facade of their perfect family.
▪
As I hit the floor, I heard a loud crack in my arm.
▪
Jagged cracks cut across the thick glass arch over the main entryway.
▪
Shirley has been addicted to crack for four years.
▪
The crack in the bedroom wall seems to be widening.
▪
The branch broke with a sudden crack .
▪
The X-ray showed several cracks in the bone of her left leg.
▪
There are a few cracks in the plaster.
▪
There was a loud crack of thunder as the storm began.
▪
This cup has a crack in it.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪
But somehow her name had slipped through some bureaucratic crack .
▪
Even with the car windows left open a crack , the temperature inside can reach 120 degrees in less than 30 minutes.
▪
Goons run rampant; crack is dealt on every corner of the Bronx, and law enforcement is something of a joke.
▪
Long chains of tiny craters on Phobos suggest the drainage of regolith into deep cracks that riddle its interior.
▪
Of course it would be ideal to have a material in which it was impossible to initiate cracks at all.
▪
Then ants would crawl through the cracks in the floor and build a big nest in the middle of the bedroom.
▪
Through the crack under the door I could smell Shelly loud and clear.
▪
Thus mild steel structures, for instance, can generally put up with cracks at least a metre long without breaking.
III. adjective
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ NOUN
cocaine
▪
An attitude, a tattoo and a supply of crack cocaine .
▪
He was on crack cocaine at the time.
▪
In recent weeks, drugs squad officers have seized quantities of crack cocaine in Gloucester and Stroud.
▪
When he did, the passenger, Jerry Wilson, dropped crack cocaine to the ground.
▪
Arrests for sale or possession of crack cocaine jumped from 41 in 1991 to 119 last year.
▪
A man found at the house, Ronald Lerma, 29, was arrested on suspicion of possessing a crack cocaine pipe.
▪
Information gathered by the national criminal intelligence service reveals a growing use of crack cocaine in the Shire counties.
▪
Like crack cocaine for the soul, Charlie's Angels delivers shameful, addictive, and no doubt tremendously harmful fun.
house
▪
Go to a crack house , Nick, and you can buy anything you want in the way of human flesh.
▪
Dilapidated public schools-their windows covered by protective grilles coexist with crack houses .
▪
Three of the apartments on the first floor were empty, and one was a crack house .
▪
Sometimes it means they help organize marches in front of crack houses .
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
a hairline crack/fracture
▪
She had a hairline fracture in her leg.
▪
I was worried about a hairline fracture, but luckily it was just a bad lump.
▪
The specialist he consulted on Monday diagnosed a hairline fracture of his right wrist and wants to take another look on Friday.
a hard/tough nut to crack
▪
Daytime television is a tough nut to crack. New shows have to be good enough to beat the old favorites.
▪
Already highly successful in popular music, dance and commercial television, blacks have found the movies a tougher nut to crack.
▪
Beverley was a tougher nut to crack.
▪
West Ham will be a tough nut to crack especially with big Lee in good form at the moment.
paper over the cracks
▪
Conversely, if you have been papering over the cracks of a relationship these same eclipses will seek them out.
▪
He did his best to paper over the cracks.
▪
King Birendra enjoyed considerable popularity, which enabled him to paper over the cracks in his divided kingdom.
▪
The private finance initiative has not papered over the cracks, although it has lined plenty of pockets.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪
She's an accomplished horse rider and a crack shot.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪
A man found at the house, Ronald Lerma, 29, was arrested on suspicion of possessing a crack cocaine pipe.
▪
An attitude, a tattoo and a supply of crack cocaine.
▪
In recent weeks, drugs squad officers have seized quantities of crack cocaine in Gloucester and Stroud.
▪
It was undeniably dead. perhaps it had been stunned by a penalty kick from a crack centre-forward.
▪
Like crack cocaine for the soul, Charlie's Angels delivers shameful, addictive, and no doubt tremendously harmful fun.
▪
When he did, the passenger, Jerry Wilson, dropped crack cocaine to the ground.