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Creation, the
who were very brave and determined, but often also very
unhappy. Her films include Mildred Pierce (1945) and What-
ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962). Her daughter wrote a
book about her, called Mommie Dearest, that criticized her
strongly.
crawl¹ /krɔːl/ v [I] 1 to move slowly with the body close to
the ground, or on the hands and knees: The baby crawled
across the room. | There's an insect crawling down your
sleeve. | (fig.) The traffic crawled along at ten miles an
hour. 2 [(with)] to be completely covered by insects, worms
etc: The kitchen was crawling with ants. | (fig.) The town was
crawling with police. 3 [(to)] infml derog to try to win the
favour of someone in a powerful position by being too nice
to them: She got her job by crawling to the chief engineer.
crawl² n 1 [S] a very slow movement or speed: traffic
moving at a crawl 2 [(the) S;U] a rapid way of swimming
while lying on your stomach, moving first one arm and
then the other over your head → see also PUB-CRAWL
crawl·er /'krɔːlər/ n 1 derog slang a person who tries to win
the favour of someone in a powerful position by being too
nice to them; SYCOPHANT 2 something that goes slowly,
especially a heavy vehicle → see also CRAWLERS, KERB
CRAWLER, NIGHT CRAWLER
'crawler, lane n BrE a part of a road, especially a MOTORWAY,
for slow vehicles
crawl·ers /'krɔːləzl-ərz/ n [P] ROMPERS
cray·fish /'kreɪˌfɪʃ/ also crawdad, crawfish n pl. -fish or
-fishes [C;U] (the flesh of) a small LOBSTER-like animal that
lives in rivers and streams
Cray·o·la /kreɪ'əʊlə/ trademark a type of coloured CRAYONS
and other art materials for children, such as coloured pens
and paints
cray·on¹ /'kreɪən, -ɒn||-ɑːn, -ən/ n a stick of coloured WAX or
CHALK used for writing or drawing, especially on paper:
children's crayons | a packet of crayons
crayon² v [I;T] to draw with a crayon
craze /kreɪz/ n [(for)] a very popular fashion that usually only
lasts for a very short time: This computer game is the latest
craze among the young in Japan.
crazed /kreɪzd/ adj [(with)] driven mad or made extremely
angry: a crazed expression | He was crazed with grief.
cra·zy /'kreɪzi/ adj infml 1 mad; foolish; INSANE: You're crazy to
go out in this weather. | a crazy idea | This noise is driving me
crazy. | He has a crazy sister in the state asylum. 2 [F+about]
wildly excited; very keen or interested: You know I'm crazy
about you. | She's just crazy about dancing. 3 a crazy
mixed-up kid infml humor a young person who feels confused
and uncertain what to do in life 4 like crazy wildly and
very actively: to work like crazy —zily adv —ziness n [U]
'crazy bone n AmE for FUNNY BONE
'Crazy, Gang, The a group of British COMEDIANS who told
jokes and sang songs in theatres from the 1930s to the 1960s
,crazy 'golf n [U] a game like GOLF in which players hit the
ball through various silly and amusing OBSTACLES. Crazy
golf courses are mainly found in SEASIDE towns in Britain.
,Crazy 'Horse (?1842-77) a NATIVE AMERICAN chief of the
SIOUX tribe who united his people and helped SITTING BULL
to win a victory over General CUSTER's army in the famous
battle at the LITTLE BIGHORN
,crazy 'paving n [U] especially BrE irregular pieces of stone
fitted together to make a path or flat place
,crazy 'quilt n AmE a QUILT made from small irregularly
shaped pieces of cloth sewn together
CRB, the /ˌsiː ɑ 'biːl-ɑːr-/ abbrev. for Criminal Records Bureau
creak /kriːk/ v [I] to make the sound of a badly oiled door
when it opens: The floorboards in the old house creaked
noisily. | creaking with age | (fig.) The tax system is creaking
under its increasingly heavy workload. —creak n
creak·y /'kriːki/ adj that creaks: a creaky old chair —ily adv
—iness n [U]
cream¹ /kriːm/ n 1 [U] the thick yellowish-white liquid that
rises to the top of milk. Cream is thought of as very nice but
unhealthy so it is kept for special occasions: Have some
cream in your coffee. | At the dairy they skim the cream off the
milk. | strawberries and cream → see also DOUBLE CREAM,
SINGLE CREAM, SOUR CREAM 2 [C;U] a food containing this
or a similar soft smooth substance: chocolate creams | cream
of chicken soup 3 [C;U] a mixture made thick and soft like
cream: face cream (=to soften your skin) | cream cleaner (=for
cleaning the kitchen, bathroom etc) | Put some of this cream
on that burn. → see also COLD CREAM 4 [the (of)] the best
part: The wedding was attended by the cream of New York
society. | Naturally, our personnel department selects only the
cream of the crop. (=the best people)
cream² adj yellowish-white: a cream dress/suit —cream n [U]
cream³ v [T] 1 to make into a thick soft mixture: Cream the
butter and sugar together. | creamed potatoes 2 to take cream
from the surface of (milk) 3 slang, especially AmE to defeat
completely
cream sbdy./sthg. ↔ off phr v [T] to remove (the best): We
cream off the best athletes and put them in a special squad. |
The private bus companies will cream off the most profitable
routes from the state-run bus service.
cream out phr v [I] AmE infml to fall or go off course,
especially when skiing (SKI)
,cream 'cheese /'…/ n [U] soft white smooth cheese made
from milk and sometimes cream
,cream 'cracker also cracker infml — n BrE a light unsweet-
ened BISCUIT often eaten with cheese
cream·er /'kriːmər/ n a small JUG for holding cream
cream·e·ry /'kriːməri/ n a place where milk, butter, cream,
and cheese are produced or sold; DAIRY
,cream of 'tartar n [U] TARTAR
,Cream of 'Wheat trademark (a bowl of) a type of hot CEREAL
made from finely crushed WHEAT
,cream 'puff n a light hollow pastry filled with whipped
cream or CUSTARD
,cream 'tea n (in Britain) a light meal taken in the early
afternoon consisting of small cakes (SCONES), jam, and
cream, usually also with a pot of tea. It is considered to be
typically English and is often something people have when
on holiday: a Devon cream tea
cream·y /'kriːmi/ adj 1 containing cream: creamy
milk 2 thick, soft, and smooth like cream: a rich creamy
liquid | creamy soap —iness n [U]
crease¹ /kriːs/ n 1 a line made on cloth, paper etc, by
folding, crushing, or pressing: You've got a crease in your
dress where you've been sitting. | He had razor-sharp creases
in his trousers. (=the trousers were very carefully
pressed) 2 a line marked on the ground to show special
areas or positions in certain games, especially cricket
crease² v 1 [I;T] to make a line or lines appear on (a
garment, paper, cloth etc) by folding, crushing, or pressing:
She wanted to wear her black dress but it was too creased. | a
material that creases easily | His brow was creased in concen-
tration. (=he was thinking hard) 2 [T(UP)] BrE infml to cause to
laugh a lot: I was creased up with laughter.
cre·ate /kri'eɪt/ v 1 [T] to cause (something new) to exist;
produce (something new): Some people believe God created
the world. | The project will create up to 60 new jobs. | to create
a stir/a sensation (=to cause great surprise and interest) | The
regulations are so complicated they will only create
confusion. | This decision creates a dangerous preced-
ent. 2 [T+obj+n] to appoint (someone) to a special rank or
position: He was created Prince of Wales in a formal cer-
emony. 3 [I] BrE infml to be noisily angry: He really created
when he found I'd broken the window!
cre·a·tion /kri'eɪʃən/ n 1 [U(of)] the act of creating: a report
proposing the creation of an independent Scottish parliament |
a job-creation scheme 2 [C] something created; something
produced by human invention or imagination: an artist's
creations | the latest creations (=fashionable clothes etc) from
Paris 3 [U] the whole universe: Are we the only thinking
species in the whole of creation? | (AmE) I've looked all over
creation for my glasses and I can't find them anywhere.
Creation, the (in the Christian religion) God's act of
creating the Universe, the Earth, and all living things on
Earth. The story of the Creation is told in the book of
Genesis in the Bible.
CULTURAL NOTE Different societies and religions have
different creation stories. The creation story of Christianity is