Search the Dictionary

Shrinking from approach or familiarity; reserved; bashful; shy; modest; -- usually applied to women, sometimes with an implication of coquetry. Coy, and difficult to win. Cowper. Coy and furtive graces. W. Irving. Nor the coy maid, half willings to be pressed, Shall kiss the cup, to pass it to the rest. Goldsmith.…

To cry up; to extol; -- followed by up. [Low] To crack a bottle, to open the bottle and drink its contents. -- To crack a crib, to commit burglary. [Slang] -- To crack on, to put on; as, to crack on more sail, or more steam. [Colloq.]

r, which last to be guessed by the opposing party, who represent in dumb show what they think it to be.

before, bedrid, . . . was now crank and lusty. Udall. If you strong electioners did not think you were among the elect, you would not be so crank about it. Mrs. Stowe.

To break into bends, turns, or angles; to crinkle. Old Veg's stream . . . drew her humid train aslope, Crankling her banks. J. Philips.

Having crannies, chinks, or fissures; as, a crannied wall. Tennyson.

A small, narrow opening, fissure, crevice, or chink, as in a wall, or other substance. In a firm building, the cavities ought not to be filled with rubbish, but with brick or stone fitted to the crannies. Dryden. He peeped into every cranny. Arbuthnot.

nly in the expression en creux. Thus, engraving en creux is engraving in intaglio, or by sinking or hollowing out the design.

te, etc. Crimping house, a low lodging house, into which men are decoyed and plied with drink, to induce them to ship or enlist as sailors or soldiers. -- Crimping iron. (a) An iron instrument for crimping and curling the hair. (b) A crimping machine. -- Crimping machine, a machine with fluted rollers or with dies, f…

To cause to shrink or draw together; to contract; to curl. [R.] Wiseman.

To contract; to draw together; to cause to shrink or wrinkle; to distort. [Obs.] Till like a boy you see him cringe his face, And whine aloud for mercy. Shak.

To cause to undulate irregularly, as crape or water; to wrinkle; to cause to ripple. Cf. Crimp. The lover with the myrtle sprays Adorns his crisped tresses. Drayton. Along the crisped shades and bowers. Milton. The crisped brooks, Rolling on orient pearl and sands of gold. Milton.

Sick from excess in eating or drinking. [Obs.] "Cropsick drunkards." Tate. -- Crop"sick`ness, n. [Obs.] Whitlock.

The sign or mark of the cross, made with the finger, or in ink, etc., or actually represented in some material; the symbol of Christ's death; the ensign and chosen symbol of Christianity, of a Christian people, and of Christendom. The custom of making the sign of the cross with the hand or finger, as a means of conferr…

The wrinkles that appear, as the effect of age or dissipation, under and around the outer corners of the eyes. Tennyson.

Marked with crow's-feet, or wrinkles, about the eyes. [Poetic] Do I look as if I were crow-trodden Beau. & FL.

To draw or press into wrinkles or folds to crush together; to rumple; as, to crumple paper. They crumpled it into all shapes, and diligently scanned every wrinkle that could be made. Addison.

totally. Speedily overtaking and crushing the rebels. Sir. W. Scott. To crush a cup, to drink. [Obs.] -- To crush out. (a) To force out or separate by pressure, as juice from grapes. (b) To overcome or destroy completely; to suppress.

Relating to cryptography; written in secret characters or in cipher, or with sympathetic ink.

A small vessel, used commonly to drink from; as, a tin cup, a silver cup, a wine cup; especially, in modern times, the pottery or porcelain vessel, commonly with a handle, used with a saucer in drinking tea, coffee, and the like.