Cracidae 
Oracidaa (kras'i-de), ./;/. [NU, < I'm., -(i;-,,,- ) 
+ -irfrt'.l A family of gallinaceous birds pecu- 
liar to the warmer parts of Ainerieu, internie 
diate between the fowls proper and the pigeons, 
and forming with the old-world Mr,/n/i<><tittlii',tn- 
mound-birds, the suborder /'rrixlrro/ioilrx, or pi- 
geon-toed fowls, so called because the hind toe 
is insistent as in the pigeons. The lamih contains 
the numerous ami diversified forms known as curassows, 
hoccos, gtians, etc. It is divided into three siilifamllie.s : 
Cracimf proper, the eurassows and lioeens. with 4 genera 
and 1'2 species; (tr<-"/:h'i*'//,i\ with a sillU'le KellUS mid spc- 
eies; anil I'l'iifl'tfiiui', tile Lilians, with 7 genera and about 
40 species. The chachalaca, (trttttiifd vctiila maccalli, is 
the niily representative nf the family iu the t nited States. 
Xc Ills Illlder 1-lir/mnnir and <l<n>n 
Gracinse (kni-si'ne), M. pi. [NL., < t'rajr (Crnc-) 
+ -inn:] The typical subfamily of the family 
Craciilii: 
crack (krak), v. [Early mod. E. cracke, crakke, 
< ME. crakken, craken, < A8. cracian (also trans- 
posed, cearciitn, > ME. i-linrl.in. i-lnrl;in, K. 
chark 1 , q. v.), crack, = D. kraken, crack, creak, 
krakkcn, crack, = MLG. LG. kraken (> F. cra- 
quer) = OHG. chrahhon, MHG. G. krachen, 
crack ; cf . Gael, crac, crack, break, crac, a crack, 
fissure. Prob. an imitative word: see chark 1 , 
a doublet of crack, and cf. creak*-, crick*, crake*, 
clack, click, cluck, knack, crash, etc. Hence 
crackle, etc.] I. in trans. 1. To break with a 
sudden sharp sound ; be or become shattered 
or shivered. 
Dear Girdle, help ! should'st heav'nly Thou be slack, 
Soon would my overstretched heart-strings crack. 
J. Beaumont, Psyche, III. 227. 
Spllnter'd spear-shafts crack and fly. 
Tcnnyxon, Sir Galahad. 
2. To burst; split; open in chinks or fissures; 
be or become fractured on the surface ; become 
chapped or chopped. 
My lips gyn crake. Coventry Mysteries, p. 325. 
Had I your tongues and eyes, I'd use them so 
That heaven's vault should crack. Shak., Lear, v. 3. 
3. To fail or be impaired ; give way. [Colloq.] 
The credit ... of exchequers crack* when little comes 
in and much goes out. Dryden. 
4. In racing slang, to give out; fail; fall be- 
hind : said of a horse. 5. To give forth a loud 
or sharp, abrupt sound ; crackle as burning 
brushwood; snap: as, the whip cracks. 
I will board her, though she chide as loud 
As thunder, when the clouds in autumn crack. 
Shak., T. of the 8., I. 2. 
6. To call out loudly; shout; bawl. 7. To 
boast ; brag ; talk exultingly. 
Ethfops of their sweet complexion crack. 
Shak., L. L. L., Iv. 3. 
Galen crack* how many several cures he hath performed 
In this kind by use of baths alone. 
Burton, Anat. of Mel., p. 285. 
I wonder if yon poor sick chap at Moss Brow would 
fancy some o' my sausages. They're something to crack 
on, for they are made fra an old Cumberland receipt. 
Mr*. Gatkell, Sylvia's Lovers, viii. 
8. To chat ; talk freely and familiarly. [Old 
Eng. and Scotch.] 
" What, howe, mate ! thow stondyst to ny, 
Thy felow may nat hale the by " ; 
Thus they hegyn to crake. 
Hfffttmt Sea- Voyage (E. E. T. S.), 1. 16. 
Gae warm ye, and crack with our dame. 
Knm*ay, Poems, ii. 622. 
II. trans. 1. To break; sever; sunder. 
In cities, mutinies: in countries, discord; in palaces, 
treason ; and the bond cracked 'twixt son and father. 
Shale., Lear, i. 2. 
2. To break in pieces ; smash ; split. 
Thou wilt quarrel with a man for crack-in:! uut> 
Slink.. R. and J., ill. 1. 
3. To break with grief ; affect deeply. [Rare 
or obsolete, rrnil or break being now used.] 
O madam, my old heart is crack'd .' Shttk., l,car, ii. 1. 
4. Specifically, to break or cause to burst into 
chinks; break partially, or on the surface; 
break without entire separation of the parts : 
as, to crack glass or ice. 
I had lever to crackf thy crow ne. 
l.iitfll Of*te ofRobyn Hood (Child's Ballads, V. 72). 
Honour i- like that glassy bubble. 
That finds philosophers such trouble ; 
U hose least part crnt-kil. the whole (loth fly. 
.<?. Btltlcr, Hlldihras, II. II. 387. 
Crack'd the helmet through. Tennii*nn. Ceraint. 
5. To open and drink: as, to crack a bottle of 
wine. 
They went to a tavern and there they dined, 
And bottles crnckfil most merrille. 
/!(./</ l-eillnr ,,ii,l litMn lltwd (Child's Ballads, V. -.'Ml. 
You'll crack n quart together. Ha! will you not. mas- 
ter Bardolph? Shak.. 2 Hen. IV., v. 3. 
1325 
6. To mar; impair; spoil ; hence, when applied 
to the brain, to dement. 
Alas, his care will go near to crack him. 
B. JIHUKIII, Bartholomew Kalr, III. 1. 
He thought none |M't till their brains were crack t. 
Rntcommon. 
One story disproved crack* nil the rest. 
II. H . l-nrli,. Harper's Mag., LXXVI. 472. 
7. To make a snapping sound with ; cause to 
make a sharp, sudden Round : as, to crack a 
whip. 
He neither rrnekat his whip, nor blew his honi. 
U':;;l*n;,rtk, Hart-Leap Well. 
8. To boast or brag in regard to ; exult in or 
about. 
For then they glory ; then they boast and cruet that 
they have played the men Indeed, when they have so 
overcome as no other living creature but ordy man could : 
that Is to say, by the might and puissance of wit ! 
Sir T. M,,re, I topia(tr. by Robinson), II. 10. 
9t. To use in utterance; talk: as, to "crack 
Latin," Wyclif. 
Or crack out bawdy speeches and unclean. 
B. Jontmi, tr. of Horace's Art of Poetry. 
A nut to crack. *< nut. To crack a crib, to break 
into a house; commit burglary. (Thieves' slang.) To 
crack a Joke, to make a jest ; say or relate something 
witty or sportive.- To crack up, to cry up ; extol ; puff. 
[Colloq.l 
" Mexico," the bricklayer said, " Is not what It has been 
cracked up to be." The American, VII. 834. 
crack (krak), . [< ME. crak, a loud noise, din, 
= D. krak = LG. krak (> F. crac) = OHG. 
chrac, MHG. G. krach ; from the verb.] 1. A 
chink or fissure; a narrow fracture; a crev- 
ice; a partial separation of the parts of a 
substance, with or without an opening or dis- 
placement: as, a crack in a board, in a wall, 
or in glass. 
He restlessly watched the stars through thecradbrof the 
boarded roof. Bret Uarte, Shore and Sedge, p. 31. 
Hence 2. A moral breach, flaw, or defect: 
as, there is a decided crack in his character or 
reputation. 
I cannot 
Believe this crack to be in my dread mistress. 
Shak., W. T., I. 2. 
Her faults 
Or crack* In duty and obedience. 
Middleton, Chaste Maid, I. 1. 
3. A sharp or loud sound, more or less sudden, 
explosive, or startling ; the sound of anything 
suddenly rent or broken : as, a crack of thun- 
der ; the crack of a whip. 
He, unconcerned, would hear the mighty crack, 
And stand secure amidst a falling world. 
Addition, tr. of Horace, Hi. 3. 
4. A sharp, resounding blow : as, he gave him 
a crack on the head. 
Ills steep fall, 
By how much it doth give the weightier crack, 
\\ ill send more wounding terror to the rest 
B. Joiuoti, Sejanus, Ii. 2. 
5f. A gun: as, "crakys of war," Barbonr. 6. 
A broken, changing, infirm, orotherwise altered 
tone of voice, as that of youth verging on man- 
hood, or of old age. 
Though now our voices 
Have got the mannish crack. 
Shak., Cymbellne, IT. 2. 
7. Mental aberration ; mania : crankiness : as, 
he has a crack. 
I saw my friend the upholsterer, whose crack toward 
politics I have heretofore mentioned. 
Sttelc, Tatler, No. 178. 
8. A crazy person; a crank. [Colloq.] 
I cannot get the Parliament to listen to me, who look 
upon me, forsooth, as a Crack and a Projector. 
Addimn, London Cries. 
9f. One who excels ; one of superior merit ; the 
best. 
1( Gent. What dost think, Jockey? 
2</ !/. The crack o' the fleld('s| against yon. 
Shirley, Hyde Park, iv. 3. 
10. A lie ; a fib. [Old slang.] 
That's a damned confounded craft. 
(ioUnnith, She Stoops to Conquer, II. 
lit. A boast. 
Great lalwur hath been about this matter ; great crack* 
hath been made, that all should tie well. 
Latimer, 1st Sermon lief. Edw. VI., 1549. 
Out of this fountain proceed all those cracks and brags. 
ttiirttin. Anat. of Mel., p. 188. 
12t. A boaster. 13t. A prostitute. Johnson. 
14t. A boy, generally a pert, lively boy. 
U lien he was a crack, not thus high. 
SA-7J-.. Hen. IV., HI. 2. 
Viv. cujiid. leiive t.. <peak lmpro|H>rly : since we are 
turned <-mffrx. let's study to he like .v-.i*'V> ; practise their 
language and liehaviours, and not with a dead imitation. 
/;. ./..IUWK, Cynthia s Revels, ii. 1. 
cracker 
15. An instant : as, I'll be with you in a crack. 
[Old Kng. and Scotch.] 
He turn d his hark, and In a crark 
Was cleanly out of tight, man. 
Battle, i/ Tranent-Huir (Child's Ballads, VII. 170). 
Puts spun to his hack, 
Makes a dash through the crowd, and ii off In a crark ' 
Barham, Ingoldsby Legends, I. 5fl. 
16. Free, familiar conversation; a comfortable 
chat. [Scotch.] 
Oood-morrow, ullnnir Syniuii ; come sit down 
And gle's your cracla. What's a' the news In town ! 
limn mil. Gentle Shepherd, II. I 
She was the wit of the village and delighted In a rrnck 
with her muter, when she could get It. 
Lady Holland, In Sydney Smith, vll. 
What Is rrm-k in English ? A chat. The synonym Ii an 
perfect as powlhle ; yet the words are snbtly distinguished 
by a whole hemisphere of feeling. A chat, by comparison 
"wi' a crack," la a poor, frivolous, shallow, altogether 
heartless business. A crack Is ... a chat with a good, 
kindly human heart in It /'. /'. Alexander. 
The crack of doom. See doom. 
crack (krak), a. [< crack, n. and v., in sense of 
'boast.'] Excellent; firat-rate; having quali- 
ties to be proud of; in definite use, the best 
or most excellent: as, a crack shot; a crack 
regiment; the crack player of the band. [Col- 
loq.] 
You've seen Mr. Kean, 
I mean In that scene 
Of Macbeth by some thought the crack one of the piece. 
liiirliaiii. Ingoldshy Legends, II 30. 
Cox's, I fancy, Is the tract hotel of London. Lady Byron 
boarded there then. 
J. T. Trmcbridge, Coupon Bonds, p. 9. 
crack-brained ( krak'brand), a. Having an im- 
paired intellect ; more or less demented. 
A race of odd crack-brained schlsmatlclu do croak In 
every corner. HoweM, Letters, Iv. 44. 
cracked (krakt), p. a. [Pp. of crack, r.] 1. 
Burst or split; rent; partially severed: as, a 
crocked pitcher. 2. Broken or changing, as the 
voice of youth verging on manhood, or of old 
age. 
His name was (Jama ; crack'il and small his voice. 
Tcnnyton, Princess, i. 
3. Blemished, as an impaired reputation. 
The reputation of an intrigue with such a cracked 
pitcher does me no honour at all. 
Smollett, Humphrey Clinker. 
4. Imperfect, as a doubtful title. 
Three things cause jealousy : a mighty state, a rich trea- 
sure, a fair wife ; or, where there Is a cracked title, much 
tyranny and exactions. Burton, Anat of Mel., p. 585. 
6. Impaired intellectually ; crazy. 
I was ever of opinion that the philosopher's stone, and 
an holy war, were but the rendezvous of cracked brains. 
Bacon, Holy War. 
cracker (krak'er), . 1. One who or that which 
cracks or breaks (transitively), specifically (a) 
In jtint-tnanvj., a man who breaks the flint stones into 
flakes, and sorts the fragments according to size, (ft) In 
anthracite mining, a coal-breaker or -crusher, (c) A ma- 
chine with grooved rollers for crushing and grinding raw 
rubber, (d) A tooth. 
2. One who or that which cracks (intransi- 
tively). Specifically (o) A small kind of firework 
filled with powder or combustible matter, which explodes 
with a smart crack or with a series of sharp noises in quick 
succession ; a fire-cracker. (6) A noisy, boasting fellow ; 
a talker. (Rare or obsolete. ] Formerly also crater. 
Great craker* were never great fighters. 
R. Edward*, Dainon and Pythias. 
What cracker is this same, that deafs our ears 
With this abundance of superfluous breath ? 
Sli.it.. K. John, U. I. 
3. A boast ; a lie. [Colloq.] 4. A thin hard 
or crisp biscuit. [American.] 
students at the necessary duty of eating brown Boston 
crackers. W. It. Baker, New Timothy, p. 14. 
I've been sitting for hours among distinguished people, 
listening to excellent discourse ; hut I had a cracker in my 
coat pocket, which I wanted to eat and didn't dare. 
Quoted in Merriam's Life of Bowles, II. 414. 
6. A bird, the pintail duck, Da/Ha acvta. 6. 
pi. The parrots as an order, En'ucleatorrt. 7. 
One of an inferior class of white hill-dwellers 
in some of the southern United States, espe- 
cially in Georgia and Florida. The name is said 
to have been applied because cracked corn Is their chief 
article of diet ; it is as old in Georgia and Florida as the 
times of the revolution. Also called sand-killer. 
This being inhabits the Southern States under various 
names. . . . In Virginia he Is known as the "mean white 
or "poor white." and among the negroes as "poor whit* 
trash." In North Carolina he flourishes under the title of 
vouch." In South Carolina he U called "low-downer. 
In Georgia and Florida we salute him with the crisp and 
significant appellation of cracker. 
J. S. Bradford, Llpplncott's Mag., VI. 4.'.: 
"I was amused enough." said Nina, "with old Hun- 
dred's indignation at having got out the carriage and 
hones to go over to what he called a Cracker funeral.' 
H. B. Stotre, Dred. I. 152. 
