not cricket
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
Recognized English idiom; full definition pending editorial review.
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Examples
Many argue that such an appeal by the Crown against too lenient a sentence is simply not cricket.
We do not follow the decimal system.
British National Corpus sentence via the MAGPIE corpus (CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30)
Sources & notes
Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review.
Common questions
What does “not cricket” mean?
Recognized English idiom; full definition pending editorial review.
Is “not cricket” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.