cracked up

Idioms  

1. Past tense of crack up .

2. 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]

3. 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]

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

cracked up

There, Lightning gets to know the town’s colorful cars and discovers that glory isn’t all it’s cracked up to be if you have no one to enjoy it with.

From Salon ● Jun. 6, 2026

Companies are rushing to cash in on “functional snacking,” but experts warn that the health benefits of fiber treats might not be all they’re cracked up to be.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 10, 2026

Except it turns out to be much, much more than it’s cracked up to be.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2025

"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

Then she and Kyle cracked up, remembering the box tops from their first puzzle in the Board Room on Saturday morning.

From "Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library" by Chris Grabenstein