craggy 
From the craggy ledge the poppy hangs in sleep. 
Tfitnyson, Lotos-Eaters (Choric Song). 
cragsman (kragz'man), H. ; pi. cragsmen (-men). 
[< crag 1 + man.'] One who is dexterous in 
climbing crags ; specifically, one who climbs 
cliffs overhanging the sea to procure sea-fowls 
or their eggs. Also craigxntan. 
A bold cragsman, scaling the steepest cliffs. 
Harper's Wag., LX.1V. 889. 
craifisht, n. An obsolete form of crawfish. 
Craig 1 (krag), . Same as crag 1 . [Scotch.] 
Meg was deaf as Ailsa Craig. Burns, Duncan Gray. 
Craig 2 (krag), n. Same as crag?. 
The knife that nicket Abel's craig, 
He'll prove you fully, 
It was a faulding jocteleg. 
Burnt, Capt. Grose's Peregrinations. 
craiget (kra'get), a. [Sc., < craig* + -et = E. 
-ed?.] Necked : as, a l&ng-craiget heron, 
craig-fluke (krag'flok), n. A local name of the 
pole, Glyptocephalus microcephaliis. [Scotch.] 
craigie (kra'gi), n. [Sc., dim. of craig 2 .] The 
neck ; the throat : same as crag 2 . 
If e'er ye want, or meet wi' scant, 
May I ne'er weet my craigie. 
Burns, Jolly Beggars. 
craigsman (kragz'man), . Same as cragsman. 
craik (krak), n. and v. Scotch spelling of crake?. 
crail (kral), . Same as creel. 
crail-capon (kral'ka'pon ), n. A haddock dried 
without being split. [Scotch.] 
craisey (kra'zi), n. [E. dial. ; origin obscure. 
According to one conjecture it is a corruption 
of Christ 's eye, a medieval name of the marigold 
and transferred to some Ranmtculaceai.] A lo- 
cal name in England for the buttercup. 
crake 1 !, *> [An obsolete or archaic form of 
crack, q. v.] Same as crack. 
All the day long is he facing and making 
Of his great actes in fighting and fray-making. 
Udall, Roister Doister, i. 1. 
Then is she mortall borne, how-so ye crake. 
Spenser, K. Q., VII. vii. 50. 
crake 1 !, [An obsolete or archaic form of 
crack, n. See crake 2 .] A boast. 
Leasinges, backbytinges, and vain-glorious crakes. 
Spenser, F. Q., II. xi. 10. 
crake 2 (krak), n. [In Sc. spelling craik; < ME. 
crake, a crow, < leel. krdka = Sw. krdka = Dan. 
krage, a crow ; imitative, like the associated 
verb croak, q. v. (see crake 1 = crack). The 
crakes (rails) are so called, independently, from 
their peculiar note ; cf . NL. Crex, < Or. Kpe f, a 
sort of land-rail, named from its cry; cf. Crax, 
Cracidce.] 1 . A crow ; a raven. Compare night- 
crake. [Prov. Eng.] 
Fulflld es now the crakes crying 
That tald bifore of al this thing. 
Seven Sages, 1. 3893. 
2. A general name for the small rails with short 
bills shaped somewhat like that of the domestic 
hen. They are of the family RaUidce, subfamily Rallince, 
genera Crex, Porzana, etc., and are found in most parts of 
the world. Among the best-known species are the small 
spotted crake of Europe, Porzana aquatica, and the Caro^ 
lina crake, sora, or soree of North America, P. Carolina. 
(See cut under Porzana.) Another is the land-rail or corn- 
crake, Crex pratemis, whose singular note, "crek, crek," 
is heard from fields of rye-grass or corn in the early sum- 
mer. The cry may be so exactly imitated by drawing the 
Wade of a knife across an indented bone, or the thumb 
over a small-toothed comb, that by these means the bird 
may lie decoyed within sight. It is pretty, the upper part 
of the body being mottled with darkish-brown, ashen, and 
warm chestnut tints. It weighs about 6 ounces, and is 10 
inches long. These birds make their appearance in Eng- 
land, Scotland, and Ireland in the month of April, and 
take their departure for warmer climates before the ap- 
proach of winter. They are occasionally seen on the east- 
ern coast of the United States. 
Mourn, clam 'ring eraiks, at close o' day, 
'Mang fields o' fiow'ring clover gay. 
Burns, On Capt. Matthew Henderson. 
crake 2 (krak), n. i. pret. and pp. craked, ppr. 
craking. [Ult. identical with crake 1 , crack : see 
crake 2 , n.] To cry like a crake ; utter the harsh 
cry of the corn-crake. 
crakeberry (krak'ber"i), n. ; pi. crakeberries 
(-iz). [< crake 2 , a crow, + berry 1 : so called 
from its black color.] A species of Empetrum, 
or berry-bearing heath ; the crowberry, E. ni- 
grum Portugal craSeberry, the Corema alba. 
crake-herring (krak 'her* ing), n. An Irish 
name for the scad. Day. 
crakelt, . An obsolete form of crackle. 
crake-needles (krak'ne'dlz), . Same as crow- 
needles. 
crakert, An obsolete form of cracker, 2 (ft). 
crallt, v. i. An obsolete spelling of crawl 1 . 
1328 
cram (kram), r. ; pret. and pp. crammed, ppr. 
cramming. [< ME. crammen, crommen (also 
cremmen, < Icel. kremja), < AS. crammian, cram, 
stuff, = Icel. kremja, squeeze, bruise, = Sw. 
krama, squeeze, press, strain, = Dan. krammc, 
crush, crumple (cf. G. krammen, claw) ; in form 
a secondary verb, < AS. crimman (pret. cramm, 
cram), press, bruise : see crim, and cf. cramp 1 , 
crimp. Cf. Icel. kramr, bruised, melted, half- 
thawed, = Sw. Norw. kram, wet, clogged (ap- 
plied to snow), from the same ult. source. Cf. 
clam 1 , to which cram is related as cramp to 
clamp 1 .'] I. trans. 1. To press or drive, par- 
ticularly thrust (one thing), into another forci- 
bly; stuff; crowd: as, to cram things into a 
basket or bag. 2. To fill with more than can 
be properly, conveniently, or comfortably con- 
tained ; fill to repletion ; overcrowd : as, to 
cram a room with people. 
Cram our ears with wool. Tennyton, Princess, iv. 
This ode is. . . crammed with effete and monstrous con- 
ceits. E. Gvsse, From Shakespeare to Pope, p. 122. 
However full, with something more 
We fain the bag would cram. 
Whittier, The Common Question. 
3. To fill with food beyond what is necessary, 
or to satiety; stuff. 
Children would ... be freer from diseases ... if they 
were not crammed so much ... by fond mothers. 
Locke, Education, 13. 
4. To endeavor to qualify (a pupil or one's 
self) for an examination, or other special pur- 
pose, in a comparatively short time, by storing 
the memory with information, not so much with 
a view to real learning as to passing the exam- 
ination; coach. 
I can imagine some impertinent inspector, having 
crammed the children, ... to put ... us old people 
out to show our grammatical paces. Blackwood's Mag. 
5. To tell lies to; fill up with false stories. 
[Slang.] 
II. intrant. 1. To eat greedily or to satiety; 
stuff one's self. 
Swinish gluttony . . . 
Crams, and blasphemes his feeder. 
Milton, Comus, 1. 779. 
2. To store the memory hastily with facts, for 
the purpose of passing an examination or for 
some other immediate use; in general, to ac- 
quire knowledge hurriedly by a forced process, 
without assimilating it : as, to cram for a civil- 
service examination ; to cram for a lecture. 
Knowledge acquired by cramming is soon lost. 
H. Spencer, Prin. of Psycho!., 109. 
The successful expositor of a system of thought is not 
the man who is always cramming, and who perhaps keeps 
but a few weeks in advance of the particular theme which 
he is exj>ounding. J. Fixke, Cosmic Philos., I. 137. 
cram (kram), n. [< cram, v.] 1. In weaving, 
a warp having more than two threads in each 
dent or split of the reed. 2. The act or the 
result of cramming the memory ; information 
acquired hurriedly and not assimilated. 
It is the purpose of education so to exercise the facul- 
ties of mind that the infinitely various experience of after- 
life may be observed and reasoned upon to the best effect. 
What is popularly condemned as cram is often the best- 
devised and best-conducted system of training towards 
this all-important end. Jevons, Social .Reform, p. 100. 
The very same lecture is genuine instruction to one boy 
and mere cram to another. Westminster Rev. , CXX V. 253. 
3. A lie. [Slang.] Cram-paper, a paper on which 
are written all the questions likely to be asked at an ex- 
amination. 
cramasiet, Same as cramoisie. 
crambambuli (kram-bam'bu-li), TO. Burnt rum 
and sugar. 
crambe (kram'be), n. [L., < Gr. xpo/i/3^, cabbage, 
cole, kale.] If. Cabbage. 
I marvel that you, so fine a feeder, will fall to your 
crambe. Calfhill, p. 120. 
2. [cap.'] [NL.] A genus of cruciferous plants, 
of which there are several species in Europe 
and western Asia. The sea-cabbage or sea-kale, C. 
maritima, is a perennial herb with white honey-scented 
flowers, growing on the sea-coast. It has been in use 
as a pot-herb from early times, and since the middle of the 
eighteenth century has come into common cultivation in 
England. The young shoots and blanched leaves are 
cooked and served like asparagus, and are esteemed a 
choice delicacy. 
3f. Same as crambo. 
Orambessa (kram-bes'a), n. [NL. ; as Cram- 
bus + fern. term. -essa.J The typical genus of 
the family Crambessidm. Haeckel, 1869. 
Crambessidae (kram-bes'i-de), n. pi. [NL., < 
Orambessa + -ida;.] A family of I)iscomedusa>,, 
without central mouth and tentacles, with a 
single central subgenital porticus, and with 
dorsal and ventral suctorial cusps and eight 
mouth-arms. 
crammer 
Crambida?, (kram'bi-de), ti.pl. [NL., < Crambitt 
+ -ida;.] A family of pyralid microlepidopter- 
ous insects, taking name from the genus Cram- 
bus; the grass-moths. The technical characters are : 
palpi similar in both 
sexes, long, stretched 
forward horizontally ; 
maxillary palpi brush- 
shaped ; fore wings 
with 12, rarely 11, 
veins, the first not 
forked ; him! wings 
with an open middle 
cell, and the hinder 
middle vein hairy atthe 
base. It is a large and 
homogeneous family of 
Cramtusvuirivaftii*j,sr>gt,t\y small moths which fly 
snlarge 
enlarged. 
r, slightly 
among grass and are 
usually found in open 
fields. The numerous species are widely distributed over 
the globe ; the larvfe feed on various cultivated cereals, as 
well as other grasses, often doing much damage. Also 
Crambidi, Cratnbiiux, and Crambites. 
Crambinae (kram-bi'ne), n. pi. [NL., < Cram- 
bus + -JH<E.] A subfamily of moths, of the fam- 
ily Crambida;. 
crambo (kram'bo), . [Origin obscure; said to 
be made from L. crambe (< Gr. K/>a[t/3r/), cabbage, 
in the proverbial expression crambe repetita, 
'cabbage warmed over,' for anything repeated: 
see crambe.. Otherwise explained as perhaps 
an abbr. of carambole (q. v. ), a term in billiards. 
The technical names of old games are often 
transferred with altered sense to new ones.] 
1 . A game in which one person or side has to 
find a rime to a word which is given by an- 
other, or to form a couplet by matching with 
a line another line already given, the new line 
being composed of words not used in the other. 
Get the Maids to Crambo in an Evening, and learn the 
knack of Rhiming. Congreve, Love for Love, i. 1. 
A little superior to these are those who can play at 
crambo, or cap verses. Steele, Spectator, No. 604. 
2. A word which rimes with another. 
And every crambo he could get. 
Swift, To Stella. 
Dumb crambo, a game in which the players are divided 
into two sides, one of which must guess a word chosen by 
the other from a second word which is told them, and which 
rimes with the first. In guessing, it is not allowable to 
speak the words, but the guessing party have to act in 
pantomime one word after another until they find the 
right one. 
crambo (kram'bo), t>. i. [< crambo, n.] To rime 
as in the game of crambo. [Bare.] 
Change my name of Miles 
To Guiles, Wiles, ... or the foulest name 
You can devise to crambo with for ale. 
B. Jonson, Tale of a Tub, iv. 1. 
crambo-clink (kram'bo-klingk), n. Rime ; rim- 
ing. [Scotch.] 
A' ye wha live by sowps o' drink, 
A' ye wha live by crambo-clink, . . . 
Come mourn wi' me. 
Burns, On a Scotch Bard. 
That old metre of Provence, . . . saved by the Scottish 
poets out of the old mystery-plays to become the crambo- 
clink of Ramsay and his circle, of Fergusson and of Burns. 
Contemporary Rev., XLIX. 603. 
crambo-jingle (kram'bo-jing-'gl), n. Same as 
crambo-cliiiK. 
Amaist as soon as I could spell, 
I to the crambo-jingle fell. 
Burns, 1st Epistle to Lapraik. 
Orambus (kram 'bus), . [NL. (Fabricius, 
1798), < Gr. Kpafi/iof, dry, parched, shriveled.] A 
genus of pyralid moths, giving name to a fam- 
ily Crambida; or a subfamily Crambina', having 
the wings in repose rolled around the body in 
tubular form. They are known as reneert or grass- 
moths, from their living in the grass. The species are 
numerous. The vagabond, C. mdgivageUue, of North 
America, is a characteristic example. See cut under 
Crambidtx. 
crame(kram),H. [Sc., also written krame,cra?me, 
craim, cream, a booth or stall, wares, = Icel. 
kram, toys (wares), = Sw. Dan. kram, wares 
(in comp. kram-bod, a shop, booth), < D. kraam, 
a booth or stall, wares. = MHG. kram (also 
knime), G. kram, a booth, wares, prop, the cov- 
ering of a booth, awning.] 1. A merchant's 
booth; a shop or tent where goods are sold ; a 
stall. 
Booths (or as they are here called, craims) containing 
hardware and haberdashery goods are erected in great 
numbers at the fare [fair]. 
P. LessvAen, Roxb. Statist. Ace., x. 207. 
2. A parcel of goods for sale ; a peddler's pack. 
Ane pedder is called an mart-hand, or creamer, qhua 
bearis ane pack or eremite vpon his back. Skcne, Verb. Sig. 
3. A warehouse. Imp. Diet. 
crammer (kram'er), n. 1. One who prepares 
himself or others, as for an examination, by 
cramming. 
