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Origin and history of cracking

cracking(adj.)

"excellent, first-rate," 1830s, colloquial, present-participle adjective from crack (v.).

also from 1830s

Entries linking to cracking

crack(v.)

Middle English craken, from Old English cracian "make a sharp noise, give forth a loud, abrupt sound," from Proto-Germanic *krakojan (source also of Middle Dutch craken, Dutch kraken, German krachen); the whole group is probably ultimately imitative. Related: Cracked; cracking.

From c. 1300 as "burst, split open" (intransitive), also transitive, "cause to break into chinks." From 1785 as "break or crush into small pieces." Of the voice, "change tone suddenly," as that of a youth passing into manhood, c. 1600. The meaning "open and drink" (a bottle) is from 16c.

From early 14c. as "utter, say, speak, talk freely," especially "speak loudly or boastingly" (late 14c.). To crack a smile is from 1835, American English; to crack a joke is by 1732, probably from the "speak, say" sense. To crack the whip in the figurative sense is from 1886. To get cracking "go to work, start doing what is to be done" is by 1937.

What is a crack in English? A chat! The synonym is as perfect as possible; yet the words are subtly distinguished by a whole hemisphere of feeling. A chat, by comparison "wi' a crack," is a poor, frivolous, shallow, altogether heartless business. A crack is, indeed, only adequately to be defined as a chat with a good, kindly, human heart in it .... [P.P. Alexander, notes to "Last Leaves," Edinburgh, 1869]
strapping(adj.)

"tall and sturdy, robust," originally applied to women, 1650s, from present participle of strap (v.), apparently in the sense of "to beat with a strap."

Compare similar senses in whopping, spanking (1660s), bouncing (1570s), cracking, thumping (1570s), ripping, smashing, whacking (1806), walloping (1847), yanking "thoroughgoing" (1824), and other present-participle adjectives of violent action expressing something very large and lusty in size or effect. Swapping "very big" is by mid-15c. from swap in the old sense of "to strike, hit." The pattern continues in modern slang: Zonking "great, big," by 1959 from zonk "hit hard" (1950). Also compare howling. For the agent-noun variations, see whopper.

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    snap
    1550s, perhaps late 15c., "a quick, sudden bite or cut; an eager seizing," from snap (v.), or, if the earlier date, a noun from Dutch or Low German snappen "to snap," which are probably related to Middle Low German or Middle Dutch snavel "bill, beak," which Watkins traced to a hy
    dandy
    "man who draws attention by unusual finery of dress and fastidiousness manners, a fop," c. 1780, of uncertain origin; attested earliest in a Scottish border ballad: I've heard my granny crack O' sixty twa years back When there were sic a stock of Dandies O etc. In that regi
    great
    Old English great "big, tall, thick, stout, massive; coarse," from West Germanic *grauta- "coarse, thick" (source also of Old Saxon grot, Old Frisian grat, Dutch groot, German groß "great"). If the original sense was "coarse," it is perhaps from PIE root *ghreu- "to rub, grind,"
    hazel
    eyes" (in reference to the color of ripe hazel-nuts), when Mercutio accuses Benvolio: Thou wilt quarrell with a man for cracking...
    noise
    c. 1200, "sound of a musical instrument;" mid-13c., "loud speech, outcry, clamor, shouting;" c. 1300, "a sound of any kind from any source," especially a loud and disagreeable sound, from Old French noise "din, disturbance, uproar, brawl" (11c., in modern French only in phrase ch
    sustain
    late 13c., sustenen, transitive, "provide the necessities of life to;" by early 14c. as "give support to (an effort or cause); also in physical senses, "keep from falling or sinking, hold up or upright;" also "give assistance to; keep (a quarrel, etc.) going." It is from the stem
    swell
    Middle English swellen, from Old English swellan "grow in bulk, become bigger" (intransitive, past tense sweall, past participle swollen), from Proto-Germanic *swellanan, *swallejanan (source also of Old Saxon swellan, Old Norse svella, Old Frisian swella, Middle Dutch swellen, D
    change
    c. 1200, "to alter, make different, change" (transitive); early 13c. as "to substitute one for another;" mid-13c. as "to make (something) other than what it was, cause to turn or pass from one state to another;" from late 13c. as "to become different, be altered" (intransitive),
    modify
    late 14c., modifien, "alter, amend, adjust, change the properties, form, or function of;" also "set limits, keep within the bounds of reason; choose a middle course," from Old French modifier (14c.), from Latin modificare "to limit, measure off, restrain," from modus "measure, ma
    grate
    late 14c., "grill for cooking;" early 15c., "iron bars or cagework across a door or window," from Anglo-Latin (mid-14c.), from Old French grate or directly from Medieval Latin grata "a grating, lattice," from Latin cratis "wickerwork, hurdle" (see hurdle (n.)). As a verb meaning

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