[cover a lot of ground] <v. phr.> To process a great deal of information and various facts. * /Professor Brown's thorough lecture on asteroids covered a lot of ground today./
[covered-dish supper] or [potluck supper] A meal to which each guest brings a share of the food. * /Dolly made a chicken casserole for the covered-dish supper./
[cover girl] <n.> A pretty girl or woman whose picture is put on the cover of a magazine. * /Ann is not a cover girl, but she is pretty enough to be./
[cover ground] or [cover the ground] <v. phr.> 1. To go a distance; travel. * /Mr. Rogers likes to travel in planes, because they cover ground so quickly./ 2. <informal> To move over an area at a speed that is pleasing; move quickly over a lot of ground. * /The new infielder really covers the ground at second base./ * /Herby's new car really covers ground!/ 3. To give or receive the important facts and details about a subject. * /If you're thinking about a trip to Europe, the airline has a booklet that covers the ground pretty well./ * /The class spent two days studying the Revolutionary War, because they couldn't cover that much ground in one day./
[cover one's tracks] or [cover up one's tracks] <v. phr.> 1. To hide and not leave anything, especially foot marks, to show where you have been, so that no one can follow you. * /The deer covered his tracks by running in a stream./ 2. <informal> To hide or not say where you have been or what you have done; not tell why you do something or what you plan to do. * /The boys covered their tracks when they went swimming by saying that they were going for a walk./ Compare: COVER UP(1).
[cover the waterfront] <v. phr.> To talk or write all about something; talk about something all possible ways. * /The principal pretty well covered the waterfront on student behavior./
[cover up] <v.>, <informal> 1. To hide something wrong or bad from attention. * /The spy covered up his picture-taking by pretending to be just a tourist./ * /A crooked banker tried to cover up his stealing some of the bank's money by starting a fire to destroy the records./ Compare: COVER ONE'S TRACKS(2). 2. In boxing: To guard your head and body with your gloves, arms, and shoulders. * /Jimmy's father told him to cover up and protect his chin when he boxed./ 3. To protect someone else from blame or punishment; protect someone with a lie or alibi. Often used with "for". * /The teacher wanted to know who broke the window and told the boys not to try to cover up for anyone./ * /The burglar's friend covered up for him by saying that he was at his home when the robbery occurred./
[cover-up] <n.>, <slang> A plan or excuse to escape blame or punishment; lie, alibi. * /When the men robbed the bank, their cover-up was to dress like policemen./ * /Joe's cover-up to his mother after he had been fighting was that he fell down./
[cow] See: HOLY CATS or HOLY COW, SACRED COW.
[cowboy] <n.>, <slang>, <informal> A person who drives his car carelessly and at too great a speed in order to show off his courage. * /Joe's going to be arrested some day - he is a cowboy on the highway./
[cow college] <n.>, <slang> 1. An agricultural college; a school where farming is studied. * /A new, bigger kind of apple is being grown at the cow college./ 2. A new or rural college not thought to be as good as older or city colleges. * /John wanted to go to a big college in New York City, not to a cow college./
[cows tail] <n.>, <dialect> A person who is behind others. * /John was the cow's tail at the exam./ * /Fred was always the old cow's tail for football practice./
[cozy up] <v.>, <slang> To try to be close or friendly; try to be liked. - Usually used with "to". * /John is cozying up to Henry so he can join the club./
[crack] See: HARD NUT TO CRACK or TOUGH NUT TO CRACK.
[crack a book] <v. phr.>, <slang> To open a book in order to study. - Usually used with a negative. * /John did not crack a book until the night before the exam./ * /Many students think they can pass without cracking a book./
[crack a bottle] <v. phr.> To open a new bottle of alcoholic beverage. * /On birthdays it is customary to crack a bottle and offer one's best wishes./
[crack a joke] <v. phr.>, <informal> To make a joke; tell a joke. * /The men sat around the stove, smoking and cracking jokes./
[crack a smile] <v. phr.>, <informal> To let a smile show on one's face; permit a smile to appear. * /Bob told the whole silly story without even cracking a smile./ * /Scrooge was a gloomy man, who never cracked a smile./ * /When we gave the shy little boy an ice cream cone, he finally cracked a smile./
[crack down] <v. phr.>, <informal> To enforce laws or rules strictly; require full obedience to a rule. * /After a speeding driver hit a child, the police cracked down./ - Often used with "on". * /Police suddenly cracked down on the selling of liquors to minors./ * /The coach cracked down on the players when he found they had not been obeying the training rules./
[crack of dawn] <n. phr.> The time in the morning when the sun's rays first appear. * /The rooster crows at the crack of dawn and wakes up everybody on the farm./
[cracked up] <adj. phr.>, <informal> Favorably described or presented; praised. - Usually used in the expression "not what it's cracked up to be". * /The independent writer's life isn't always everything it's cracked up to be./ * /In bad weather, a sailing cruise isn't what it's cracked up to be./
[cracking] See: GET CRACKING - at GET GOING(2).
[crackpot] <n.>, <attrib. adj.>, <informal> 1. <n.> An eccentric person with ideas that don't make sense to most other people. * /Don't believe what Uncle Noam tells you - he is a crackpot./ 2. <attrib. adj.> * /That's a crackpot idea./
[crack the whip] <v. phr.>, <informal> To get obedience or cooperation by threats of punishment. * /If the children won't behave when I reason with them, I have to crack the whip./
[crack up] <v.> 1. To wreck or be wrecked; smash up. * /The airplane cracked up in landing./ * /He cracked up his car./ 2. <informal> To become mentally ill under physical or mental overwork or worry. * /He had kept too busy for years, and when failures came, he cracked up./ * /It seemed to be family problems that made him crack up./ 3. Burst into laughter or cause to burst into laughter. * /That comedian cracks me up./
[cradle] See: ROB THE CRADLE.
[cradle robber], [cradle robbing] See: ROB THE CRADLE.
[cramp] See: WRITER'S CRAMP.
[cramp one's style] <v. phr.>, <informal> To limit your natural freedom; prevent your usual behavior; limit your actions or talk. * /He cramped his style a good deal when he lost his money./ * /Army rules cramped George's style./
[crash dive] <n.> A sudden dive made by a submarine to escape an enemy; a dive made to get deep under water as quickly as possible. * /The captain of the submarine told his crew to prepare for a crash dive when he saw the enemy battleship approaching./
[crash-dive] <v.> 1. To dive deep underwater in a submarine as quickly as possible. * /We shall crash-dive if we see enemy planes coming./ 2. To dive into (something) in an airplane. * /When the plane's motor was hit by the guns of the enemy battleship, the pilot aimed the plane at the ship and crash-dived into it./
[crash the gate] <v. phr.>, <slang> To enter without a ticket or without paying; attend without an invitation or permission. * /Bob got into the circus without paying. He crashed the gate./ * /Three boys tried to crash the gate at our party but we didn't let them in./
[craw] See: STICK IN ONE'S CRAW.
[crawl up] See: RIDE UP.
[crazy] or [mad] or [nuts about] <adj. phr.>, <informal> Excessively fond of; infatuated with. * /Jack is totally nuts about Liz, but she is not too crazy about him./
[cream] See: VANISHING CREAM.
[cream of the crop] <n. phr.> The best of a group; the top choice. * /May Queen candidates were lovely, but Betsy and Nancy were the cream of the crop./ * /The students had drawn many good pictures and the teacher chose the cream of the crop to hang up when the parents came to visit./
[creature of habit] <n. phr.> A person who does things out of habit rather than by thought. * /Our boss is a creature of habit, so let us not confuse him with too many new ideas./
[credibility gap] <n.>, <hackneyed phrase>, <politics> An apparent discrepancy between what the government says and what one can observe for oneself. * /There was a tremendous credibility gap in the USA during the Watergate years./
[credit] See: DO CREDIT.
[creek] See: UP THE CREEK or UP THE CREEK WITHOUT A PADDLE.
[creep] See: THE CREEPS.
[creep up on] <v.> 1. To crawl towards; move along near the ground; steal cautiously towards so as not to be seen or noticed. * /The mouse did not see the snake creeping up on it over the rocks./ * /Indians were creeping up on the house through the bushes./ 2. or [sneak up on] To come little by little; arrive slowly and unnoticed. * /The woman's hair was turning gray as age crept up on her./ * /Winter is creeping up on us little by little./ * /The boys didn't notice the darkness creeping up on them while they were playing./ Compare: COME OVER.
[crew] See: SECTION GANG or SECTION CREW.
[crew cut] or [crew haircut] <n.> A boy's or man's hair style, cut so that the hair stands up in short, stiff bristle. * /Many boys like to get crew cuts during the summer to keep cooler./
[crisp] See: BURN TO A CRISP.
[crocodile tears] <n.> Pretended grief; a show of sorrow that is not really felt. * /When his rich uncle died, leaving him his money, John shed crocodile tears./ (From the old legend that crocodiles make weeping sounds to attract victims and then shed tears while eating them.)
[crook] See: BY HOOK OR BY CROOK.
[crop] See: CASH CROP, CREAM OF THE CROP, STICK IN ONE'S CRAW or STICK IN ONE'S CROP.