nook and cranny, every

every (old) nook and cranny

Every part or section of a given place, especially those that are hard to see or reach. Every nook or cranny of this house needs to be clean when Grandma comes to visit. There are so many books in the library that you can find all sorts of interesting things in every old nook or cranny there.See also: and, cranny, every, nook

nook and cranny

Every possible place or part of something, down to the smallest ones. You need to clean every nook and cranny of this room before your grandmother gets here—it has to be spotless for her! I looked in every nook and cranny of the attic and couldn't find that box anywhere.See also: and, cranny, nook

every nook and cranny

Fig. every small, out-of-the-way place or places where something can be hidden. We looked for the tickets in every nook and cranny. They were lost. There was no doubt. The decorator had placed flowers in every nook and cranny.See also: and, cranny, every, nook

nook and cranny, every

Everywhere, as in I've searched for it in every nook and cranny, and I still can't find it. This metaphoric idiom pairs nook, which has meant "an out-of-the-way corner" since the mid-1300s, with cranny, which has meant "a crack or crevice" since about 1440. Neither noun is heard much other than in this idiom. See also: and, every, nook

every nook and cranny

every part or aspect of something.See also: and, cranny, every, nook

(in) every ˌnook and ˈcranny

(informal) everywhere; (in) all parts of a place: I’ve looked in every nook and cranny but I can’t find it. ♢ She knows every nook and cranny of the city, so she’s the perfect guide.A nook is a small hidden place and a cranny is a small hole. Both are old-fashioned words.See also: and, cranny, every, nook

nook and cranny, every

Every place, all over. This expression combines nook, which has meant an out-of-the-way corner since the fourteenth century, and cranny, meaning a crack or crevice since the fifteenth century. Frederick Marryat used it in Japhet in Search of a Father (1836): “After examining every nook and cranny they could think of.”See also: and, every, nook