nut-crackn.
/ˈnʌtkrak/, U.S. /ˈnətˌkræk/ Now historical and rare.
= nutcracker n. 1a. Now rare.
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the world > food and drink > food > food manufacture and preparation > equipment for food preparation > [noun] > tools for preparing fruit or nuts
nutcracker1481
nut-crack1570
nutcrackers1600
crackera1640
crack-nut1656
orange-strainer1688
apple scoop1696
orange-peel cutter1757
apple corer1778
lemon-squeezer1781
corer1789
orange squeezer1815
seeder1865
sweat-box1870
reamer1894
stemmer1898
juicer1938
zester1963
1570 P. Levens Manipulus Vocabulorum sig. Aiiv/1 Nutcracke, nucifrangium.
1647 J. Fletcher Pilgrim ii. i. 50 Her Lady-fayry, to oyl the dores o' nights, That they may open with discretion, Her Gin, her Nut-crack.
1681 Reply to ‘Mischief of Impositions’ 4 They can find in their hearts to play with Nut-cracks and Hobby-horses.
1682 T. Southerne Loyal Brother v, in Wks. (1721) I. 59 Indeed a nutcrack, or some such conceited Hyroglyphical Engine does well in the hand of a magistrate.
1793 A. Seward Lett. (1811) III. 266 A mouth that will be nut-cracks at 60.
1806 in J. Tomlinson Doncaster (1887) 257 For 16 pairs of nut-cracks to mansion house.
1851 H. Mayhew London Labour I. 335/2 Nut-cracks, 6d. to 1s. 6d.
1869 R. D. Blackmore Lorna Doone II. xi. 150 The gentleman on the cue-bald horse shuts up his face like a pair of nut-cracks, as wide as it was long before.
1906 Dial. Notes 3 148 Please pass the nut-cracks.
1917 Harrods Gen. Catal. 951 Nutcracks and picks, in velvet-lined case. Ebony handles, 12/6 case.
1984 P. Cuffley Chandeliers & Billy Tea iv. 84 (caption) Case containing Two Pairs of Electro-plated Nutcracks and One Pair of Electro-plated Grape Scissors.
Compounds
Nut-crack Night n. British and U.S. regional Halloween.
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society > faith > worship > liturgical year > feast, festival > specific Christian festivals > Halloween (31 October) > [noun]
All Hallow Evec1325
All Hallows' Eve1447
All Saints' Eve?c1550
Halloween1556
Nut-crack Night1731
1731 Poor Robin sig. B7 (table) Observations on November...1 Nutcrack Night... 5 Guy Fawks.
1777 J. Brand Observ. Pop. Antiq. App. 344 From the Custom of flinging [nuts]..into the Fire, it has doubtless had its vulgar Name of Nutcrack-Night.
1849 Gloss. Prov. Words Teesdale 91 Nut-crack neet, Nut-crack night, Allhallows Eve. It used to be the custom to reserve some nuts for this night.
1868 Harper's Mag. Dec. 72/2 Holy-eve, or Nutcrack-night, is another of those seasons which abound with curious and superstitious practices.
1959 I. Opie & P. Opie Lore & Lang. Schoolchildren xii. 271 In Liverpool Hallowe'en is known as ‘Duck Apple’, in Newcastle ‘Dookie-Apple Night’, in Swansea ‘Apple and Candle Night’, in Pontypool ‘Bob Apple’ or ‘Crab Apple Night’, and in Durham ‘Nut Crack Night’.
2001 LaCrosse (Wisconsin) Tribune 1 Nov. People in Northern England and Scotland in the early 1800s began celebrating Nut Crack Night, when families would eat apples and nuts in front of a fire.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2004; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1570