all it's cracked up to be
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
Not as good as expected
Literally: all that it is touted as
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Sources & notes
Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-30; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “all it's cracked up to be” mean?
Not as good as expected Literally: all that it is touted as
Is “all it's cracked up to be” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.