crack a smile
IdiomsExample Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Bob Mortimer's efforts to make his rival comedians crack a smile while he kept a straight face in Last One Laughing earned him the Bafta for best entertainment performance.
From BBC ● May 10, 2026
His sprightly text, ably translated from the French by Arielle Aaronson, may crack a smile on even the most stone-faced among us.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 31, 2025
Coverage of his personal appearances focused on his obvious discomfort in meeting with strangers and his fruitless efforts to laugh or even crack a smile, which tended to produce only a hideous facial rictus.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 22, 2024
Milley didn't crack a smile all night, even when Biden came over to glad-hand after his speech.
From Salon ● Aug. 18, 2023
Ser Alliser Thome was the only man at table who did not so much as crack a smile.
From "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin
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.
