cracked up
Idioms-
Past tense of crack up .
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cracked up to be . Reputed to be. This expression is always used in a negative way, as in I don't think this book is all it's cracked up to be . It relies on the now obsolete use of to crack up to mean “to praise extravagantly.” It appeared in The Kentuckian : “He is not the thing he is cracked up for” (May 28, 1829). [Early 1800s]
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Under the influence of crack (a form of cocaine). For example, “Who's cracked up, who's cracked out, and who's dead?” ( World News Tonight , ABC-TV, May 12, 1992). [1980s]
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It’s a presentation, a release valve, an acknowledgement that heterosexuality — for everyone — is not always what it’s cracked up to be.
From Salon • Jun. 3, 2026
It’s a presentation, a release valve, an acknowledgement that heterosexuality — for everyone — is not always what it’s cracked up to be.
From Salon • Jun. 3, 2026
Maybe investing like the “smart money” isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 16, 2026
"I just cracked up laughing of course, because that's what any woman would want to hear, but it's our life, so it's pretty wonderful. He was a man of his word."
From BBC • May 11, 2025
Claire cracked up as well, then let spit dribble out of her mouth.
From "Out of My Mind" by Sharon M. Draper
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
