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cracker-barrel

American  
[krak-er-bar-uhl] / ˈkræk ərˌbær əl /

adjective

  1. of or suggesting the simple rustic informality and directness thought to be characteristic of life in and around a country store.

    homespun, cracker-barrel philosophy.


cracker-barrel British  

adjective

  1. rural; rustic; homespun

    a cracker-barrel philosopher

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of cracker-barrel

1875–80, adj. use of cracker barrel, around which rural people supposedly converse in old-style country stores

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.

See Examples For:

Jane Kaczmarek brings her wholesome, cracker-barrel charm to the role of the Stage Manager.

From Los Angeles Times Oct. 3, 2017

This is no cracker-barrel caricature but a shaded portrait of someone who, for all his vulgarity and cruelty, compels admiration.

From New York Times Jul. 25, 2017

And finally, what might happen if we brought it back, if we countered baseball’s cracker-barrel philosopher by making nostalgia something of what it used to be?

From Salon Mar. 16, 2014

Now Schulberg wanted to denounce the power of television talkers; it’s said that his model was that cracker-barrel sage of radio and early TV, Arthur Godfrey.

From Time Jul. 3, 2012

“Sure, Red, glad to oblige. Hear you been blowin’ off at the mouth at some of the cracker-barrel heroes agin.”

From "Across Five Aprils" by Irene Hunt

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