to crack up
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
To praise highly, to eulogize. We find them cracking up the country they belong to, no matter how absurd may be the boast. — JAS. PAYN: By Proxy, ch. i.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “to crack up” mean?
To praise highly, to eulogize. We find them cracking up the country they belong to, no matter how absurd may be the boast. — JAS. PAYN: By Proxy, ch. i.
Is “to crack up” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.