crack-jawadj.
/ˈkrakdʒɔː/, U.S. /ˈkrækˌdʒɔ/ Fit to crack the jaws; difficult to pronounce. Also transferred.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > literature > style of language or writing > inelegance > [adjective] > not euphonious > hard to pronounce
pouch-mouth1565
crack-jaw1827
jaw-breaking1842
1827 B. Disraeli Vivian Grey III. v. xiii. 255 A Polish nobleman—a Count somebody:—I never can remember their crack-jaw names.
1862 H. Marryat One Year in Sweden I. 232 The names are far too crackjaw.
1886 G. Allen For Maimie's Sake v Your outlandish crack jaw foreigner lingo.
1920 M. Beerbohm Lett. to R. Turner (1964) 249 Oh the tedious, crack-jaw, arid intellectual snobbery of Diana [of the Crossways]!
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1893; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.1827- well-brooked
- well-brought-up
- well-browed
- well-browned
- well-brushed
- well-builded
- well-building
- well-builtness
- well-burnished
- well-burnt
- well-buttered
- well-calculated
- well-calved
- well-cared-for
- well-caulked
- well-changed
- well-characterized
- well-cheered
- well-choosing
- well-chose
- well-chosen
- well-circumstanced
- well-cistern
- well-clad
- well-cleansed