What's the difference between crack and knack?

Crack


Definition:

  • (v. t.) To break or burst, with or without entire separation of the parts; as, to crack glass; to crack nuts.
  • (v. t.) To rend with grief or pain; to affect deeply with sorrow; hence, to disorder; to distract; to craze.
  • (v. t.) To cause to sound suddenly and sharply; to snap; as, to crack a whip.
  • (v. t.) To utter smartly and sententiously; as, to crack a joke.
  • (v. t.) To cry up; to extol; -- followed by up.
  • (v. i.) To burst or open in chinks; to break, with or without quite separating into parts.
  • (v. i.) To be ruined or impaired; to fail.
  • (v. i.) To utter a loud or sharp, sudden sound.
  • (v. i.) To utter vain, pompous words; to brag; to boast; -- with of.
  • (n.) A partial separation of parts, with or without a perceptible opening; a chink or fissure; a narrow breach; a crevice; as, a crack in timber, or in a wall, or in glass.
  • (n.) Rupture; flaw; breach, in a moral sense.
  • (n.) A sharp, sudden sound or report; the sound of anything suddenly burst or broken; as, the crack of a falling house; the crack of thunder; the crack of a whip.
  • (n.) The tone of voice when changed at puberty.
  • (n.) Mental flaw; a touch of craziness; partial insanity; as, he has a crack.
  • (n.) A crazy or crack-brained person.
  • (n.) A boast; boasting.
  • (n.) Breach of chastity.
  • (n.) A boy, generally a pert, lively boy.
  • (n.) A brief time; an instant; as, to be with one in a crack.
  • (n.) Free conversation; friendly chat.
  • (a.) Of superior excellence; having qualities to be boasted of.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) They’re no crack force either; many are rather portly!
  • (2) While superheroes like “superman” (21st in SplashData’s 2014 rankings) and “batman” (24th) may be popular choices for passwords, the results if they are cracked could be anything other than super – and users will only have themselves to blame.
  • (3) However, we have observed cracks on the Dacron fibers, fiber fracture, fiber protrusion, and poor attachment to the diaphragm, which can cause potentially disastrous complications.
  • (4) But instead, he is going to crack under public anger over the huge amounts senior bankers have been paying themselves.
  • (5) It is found that, in contrast to most metallic materials yet in keeping with many ceramics, there are no distinct fracture morphologies in pyro-carbons which are characteristic of a specific mode of loading; fracture surfaces appear to be identical for both catastrophic and subcritical crack growth under either sustained or cyclic loading.
  • (6) Iowa senator Chuck Grassley, the Republican who chairs the Senate judiciary committee, introduced legislation on Tuesday that would crack down on jurisdictions that provide safe harbor for undocumented migrants by withholding some federal funding for state and local entities if they decline to cooperate with the government on the holding or transferring of undocumented migrants with criminal records.
  • (7) In a single letter in February 2005, Charles urged a badger cull to prevent the spread of bovine tuberculosis – damning opponents to the cull as “intellectually dishonest”; lobbied for his preferred person to be appointed to crack down on the mistreatment of farmers by supermarkets; proposed his own aide to brief Downing Street on the design of new hospitals; and urged Blair to tackle an EU directive limiting the use of herbal alternative medicines in the UK.
  • (8) On second impacts, the GSI rose considerably because the shell and liner of the DH-151 cracked and the suspension of the "141" stretched during the first blow.
  • (9) 9.18pm: The Ohio Democrat Dennis Kucinich has a crack, and he's taking no prisoners: "We've heard Mr Toyoda say that Toyota grew to fast.
  • (10) Here come the Dodgers for another crack at it in the second.
  • (11) That led to the second breakthrough, as the once formidable laws of omerta - silence punishable by death - cracked.
  • (12) The passengers were then flown to an Australian icebreaker, the Aurora Australis, which had cracked through ice floes and was now sailing towards Australia's Casey research base.
  • (13) SEM of the resulting surface showed rounded fragments of enamel rods, enamel melting, cracks, and smooth-edged voids.
  • (14) According to the NYPD commissioner, Bill Bratton, whose voice almost cracked with emotion as he addressed the media on Saturday evening , the “digital warning poster” featuring a picture of Brinsley and his whereabouts arrived at the data centre at 2.47pm.
  • (15) As subcritical crack velocities under cyclic loading were found to be many orders of magnitude faster than those measured under equivalent monotonic loads and to occur at typically 45% lower stress-intensity levels, cyclic fatigue in pyrolytic carbon-coated graphite is reasoned to be a vital consideration in the design and life-prediction procedures of prosthetic devices manufactured from this material.
  • (16) It is hence impossible to wiretap, intercept or crack the information transmitted through it,” Xinhua reported after Tuesday’s launch.
  • (17) He just never dreamed it would be life without parole.” Obama reduces sentences of 46 inmates convicted of nonviolent drug crimes Read more As his sister put it, Bennett “got caught up” in a five-man drug ring run by an old friend, John Hansley, to pay for his addiction to crack.
  • (18) Spencer has now heard that Andy, who got the boat remember, has been cracking on to Louise, even though Jamie warned him it would be like jumping into a polar bear's nest.
  • (19) "I urge both the monks and the lay Tibetans of the area not to do anything that might be used as a pretext by the local authorities to massively crack down on them.
  • (20) Of 26 patients treated to date, 16 have been crack cocaine users.

Knack


Definition:

  • (v. i.) To crack; to make a sharp, abrupt noise to chink.
  • (v. i.) To speak affectedly.
  • (n.) A petty contrivance; a toy; a plaything; a knickknack.
  • (n.) A readiness in performance; aptness at doing something; skill; facility; dexterity.
  • (n.) Something performed, or to be done, requiring aptness and dexterity; a trick; a device.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) His office - with a floor-to-ceiling glass wall offering views over a Bradford suburb and distant moors - is devoid of knick-knacks or memorabilia.
  • (2) For one day only, the criteria for success shift from the ability to do long division to the ability to do the long jump, a knack for reciting facts to a knack for running fast.
  • (3) Garfield has a history of making interesting choices and a knack for using his edgy watchfulness to steal scenes from some of the best actors in the business.
  • (4) Doyle may be knacked too … 12.47pm GMT 30 min: Leeds are bossing this and playing some wonderful football.
  • (5) He has a knack for always knowing the right thing to say to them.
  • (6) Abbott appeared to have the same knack until he got into government, after which time his lack of ideas and direction have seen his party – and especially his cabinet – crumble.
  • (7) Bayern, even with 10 men, had an unerring knack of keeping the ball.
  • (8) Knack There were hidden areas he could smash open, collecting components that could be made into helpful items – such as one that harvests energy from enemies that could be used for special attacks.
  • (9) It was not the worst performance of Chelsea’s season by any measure and they gave everything during their late search for an equaliser, but they have lost their knack of recovering from going behind and Marko Arnautovic’s goal, eight minutes into the second half, was decisive.
  • (10) Young-gamer-friendly The Knack is a simple but imaginative action-adventure, while InFamous: Second Son , a third-person superpowers-themed title, really looked a step ahead of the current platforms, presenting a glorious and inventive spectacle.
  • (11) And on those occasions when the chefs can’t cook up a compromise, the EU has a knack for defusing a crisis by “kicking the can down the road” or some other variant of delaying a day of reckoning or fudging a fundamental problem.
  • (12) Sturridge, nonetheless, has a wonderful knack of not becoming dispirited.
  • (13) Louis van Gaal’s knack for escapism has been a pronounced feature of the season but on a wild night in east London, when West Ham United yelled farewell to their home of 112 years, the Manchester United manager could not summon the trick when he needed it so sorely.
  • (14) Updated at 4.45pm BST 3.44pm BST 3.37pm BST Meet the team Left to right: Gary (the driver), Benji (knee-knacked blogger), Hollis (the photographer) 3.24pm BST 3.10pm BST Chicago playlist While we're waiting for Benji and the team to get their first coffee rush going, let's spin a few tunes courtesy of our resident DJ @jaimeblack at Dynasty Podcasts .
  • (15) I suppose that in my highly anxious 20s I developed a knack for viewing my future with the lowest possible expectations of happiness.
  • (16) Long known for its knack for borrowing from the catwalk and repurposing for the high street in a more wearable way, Zara’s success also relies on trial and error.
  • (17) The arrogant have a knack of papering over chasms in their arguments.
  • (18) The knack is to find your own inspiration, and take it on a journey to create work that is personal and revealing.
  • (19) And that is true, but as far the popular perception of the world is concerned, Argentina is celebrated only on account of its knack of producing, generation after generation, great footballers and teams.
  • (20) Tom Watson is a formidable political operator with an uncanny knack for being at the centre of Labour party dramas.