cracker

American  

[krak-er] / ˈkræk ər /

noun

1. a thin, crisp biscuit.

2. a firecracker.

3. Also called cracker bonbon.  a small paper roll used as a party favor, that usually contains candy, trinkets, etc., and that pops when pulled sharply at one or both ends.

4. (initial capital letter) a native or inhabitant of Georgia or Florida (used as a nickname).

5. Slang: Disparaging and Offensive. a contemptuous term used to refer to a white person in the South, especially a poor white living in some rural parts of the southeastern U.S.

6. Slang. black hat.

7. snapper.

8. braggart; boaster.

9. a person or thing that cracks.

10. a chemical reactor used for cracking.

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adjective

1. Informal. crackers, wild; crazy.

   They went crackers over the new styles.

cracker British  

/ ˈkrækə /

noun

1. a decorated cardboard tube that emits a bang when pulled apart, releasing a toy, a joke, or a paper hat

2. short for firecracker

3. a thin crisp biscuit, usually unsweetened

4. a person or thing that cracks

5. offensive another word for poor White

6. slang a thing or person of notable qualities or abilities

7. informal worthless; useless

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Sensitive Note

The term cracker is used as a neutral nickname by inhabitants of Georgia and Florida; it is a positive term of self-reference. But when the nickname is used by outsiders, it is usually with disparaging intent and perceived as insulting by Georgians and Floridians. Cracker is always disparaging and offensive when used to refer to a poor white person in the South; the word in this sense often implies that the person is regarded as ignorant or uneducated. When used by Black people, cracker can refer to a Southern white racist, not necessarily poor or rural. See also Cracker State.

Etymology

Origin of cracker

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English craker; crack, -er ¹; cracker defs. 4, 5 were perhaps originally in sense “braggart,” applied to frontiersmen of the southern American colonies in the 1760s, though subsequently given other interpretations ( corn-cracker ); cracker for def. 11 crackers “crazy,” cracked, -ers

Example Sentences

To make eating fun, we serve them chicken nuggets shaped like dinosaurs and crackers shaped like goldfish.

From The Wall Street Journal

Mexico said Thursday that two naval ships delivered 814 tons of aid to Cuba, including meat, crackers and rice.

From The Wall Street Journal

Afterward Daddy would go and check if Mama would have some soup, or maybe some crackers.

From Literature

Maybe it’s really good cheese, paired with sturdy crackers and a favorite jam.

From Salon

Often she brought him a little box of animal crackers.

From Literature

Related Words

• biscuit
• cookie
• pretzel