crook
part of speech
noun (a crook, crooks); verb (crook, crooks, crooked, crooking); adjective (Australia/NZ informal: crook)
meaning for a pupil
1) (informal) A dishonest person, especially a criminal or cheat. tree →
2) A shepherd's long stick with a hook at the top. tree →
3) The inside of a bent part of your body, such as «the crook of your arm». tree →
4) (verb) To bend your finger or arm into a hook shape: «She crooked her finger to call me over.» tree →
5) (Australia, NZ, informal) Ill or unwell: «I'm feeling crook.» tree →
6) (Australia, NZ, informal) Bad, broken or not working well; «go crook at someone» means to get angry with them. tree →
7) In the phrase “by hook or by crook”, crook means any means at all, fair or not. tree →
sense in the lessons
In the Tanakh and Jewish tradition: A priest with such a blemish may not serve at the altar, though he may eat the priestly food. Tradition reads these rules as protecting the dignity of the sanctuary. In the primary lessons: In stories a crook is a villain, thief or swindler that the police chase. In safety lessons, crooks are people who try to trick you or steal. In Australia and New Zealand «crook» is everyday talk for being sick: «He's crook, he's staying home.» Phrases: «a bunch of crooks», «by hook or by crook» (by any means at all), «the crook of the arm», «feeling crook», «go crook».
examples
- or crook-backed, or a dwarf, or that hath his eye overspread, or is scabbed, or scurvy, or hath his stones crushed; (Torah LEV.21.20, JPS 1917) tree →
- The police caught the crook who stole the bikes. tree →
- The shepherd guided the sheep with his crook. tree →
- The baby slept in the crook of her arm. tree →
- She crooked her finger and called him over. tree →
- (Australia) I felt crook all weekend, so I missed footy. tree →
- (Australia) Mum went crook at us for tracking mud through the house. tree →
- That shop is run by crooks — the prices are a rip-off. tree →
- We'll finish this model by hook or by crook. tree →
- “If we cannot get in by hook, we will get in by crook,” said Mongan. tree →
note
Countable noun. Sounds like «crook» rhymes with «book». «Crooked» as an adjective (bent, or dishonest) is pronounced «CROOK-id» with two syllables, but as the past of the verb it is one syllable: «she crooked her finger». The Australian meaning «ill» is unknown to many Americans.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «crook» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.