crack a book

Idioms and Phrases

Open a book to study or read, as in He passed the exam without cracking a book . This expression employs the verb to crack in the sense of “to open,” a slang usage that dates from the early 1700s. [ Colloquial ; c. 1930]

Example Sentences

How do you crack a book against a rating scale, the way you can with a new reality show?

From Slate

You live in a big house, the biggest, actually, and everyone in the whole school knows your name, and you are always giving these amazingly well-attended talks, from chairs and stools, and yet, for all of that, people don’t always do what you say, or admit that you are above reproach in all things and always have exactly the right idea about everything, even better ideas than the so-called experts, like Mrs. Gut-Symphony Jones, though you never even crack a book.

From The New Yorker

He believes that if you want to learn something, go crack a book and do it.

From New York Times

Comics encourage early and reluctant readers to crack a book, and comics deliver funny, smart, and exciting stories to children at all reading levels.

From Slate

This is no longer about Anastasia’s decision to enter into a relationship with him — it’s about a man taking advantage of a woman for his own means, a story we don’t need to crack a book to learn everything about.

From Time