Crack
-
- Great Grand Panjandrum
- Posts: 3333
- Joined: Wed Jan 03, 2007 12:41 pm
- Location: RUSTON, LA
- Contact:
Crack
I ran across the expression "crack shot" yestday and looked up "crack." As slang, both words go back to 1793! But in the process I found eight or ten uses of crack as a noun and almost as many as a verb. Several dictionaries trace it back centuries and consider it onomotopeic, but the wide range of meanings makes me wonder whether there may be other derivations as well.
pl
- Slava
- Great Grand Panjandrum
- Posts: 8043
- Joined: Thu Sep 28, 2006 9:31 am
- Location: Finger Lakes, NY
On the surface, a simple word, but as often is the case, as we delve deeper, it gets more complicated.
For our English usage, I accept the idea that it's onomatopoeic, but what about the tie-in with the Dutch kraken and the Norwegian same?
In Dutch it's a cracking sound, in Norwegian it's a sea monster creating whirlpools off the shores of Norway.
I wonder if we'll see this one "cracked" in our day.
For our English usage, I accept the idea that it's onomatopoeic, but what about the tie-in with the Dutch kraken and the Norwegian same?
In Dutch it's a cracking sound, in Norwegian it's a sea monster creating whirlpools off the shores of Norway.
I wonder if we'll see this one "cracked" in our day.
Life is like playing chess with chessmen who each have thoughts and feelings and motives of their own.
Return to “Good Word Suggestions”
Who is online
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest