Etymology

cracked

C3R1A1C3K5E1D2

Today it means: Broken so that cracks appear on, or under, the surface. Full definition →

Ask AI about its historyChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

The story

See crack. The origin of the slang sense “skilled (at a game)” is disputed, but may derive from the much older term crack shot (“one who is skilled at shooting”). Compare cracking, crackerjack.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.