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Cry, the Beloved Country
irregular folds by pressing, crushing etc: a crumpled
dress/suit/newspaper | The front of the car crumpled when it
hit the wall. | (fig.) His face crumpled and he started to
cry. 2 [(UP)] infml to lose the strength or will to fight: The
enemy forces crumpled under the bombardment.
'crumple zone n tech a part of the body of a motor vehicle
which crumples more easily than the rest of the vehicle if hit
in an accident, and so protects the people in the vehicle by
absorbing (ABSORB) the IMPACT
crunch¹ /krʌntʃ/ v 1 [(on);T] to crush (food) noisily with the
teeth: The dog was crunching (on) a bone. 2 [I] to make a
noise like the sound of something being crushed: Our feet
crunched on the frozen snow. | The stones crunched under the
car tyres. -> see also NUMBER CRUNCHING —y adj
crunch² n 1 [S] a crunching sound: I heard a loud crunch as
the truck ran into the wall. 2 [the] infml a difficult moment
when something important must be decided: They're
against our plan now but when/if it comes to the crunch
they'll support us.
Crunch-ie /'krʌntʃi/ trademark a type of chocolate bar made
by CADBURY which has a sweet yellow inside that is hard
and CRISP
cru·sade¹ /kru:'seɪd/ n 1 (usually cap.) any of the eight wars
led by Christian European Kings in the 11th, 12th, and 13th
centuries to get control of Palestine again from the SARACENS
or Muslims, since Christians believed that Palestine was a
holy land 2 [(against, for)] a united effort for the defence or
advancement of an idea, principle etc: I think he's running a
one-man crusade against cigarette smoking. | a crusade for
women's rights
cru·sade² v [(against, for)] to take part in a crusade: to crusade
against nuclear weapons | a crusading young politician
—sader n
Cru·sades, The /kru:'seɪdz/ eight was led by Christian
European kings in the 11th, 12th, and 13th centuries to get
control of Palestine from the SARACENS or Muslims, since
both sides believed that Palestine was a holy land in their
religion
cruse /kru:z/ n bibl or old use a small pot or JAR for oil, wine etc
crush¹ /krʌʃ/ v 1 [T] to press with great force so as to break,
damage, or destroy the natural shape or condition: Don't
crush the box, there are eggs inside! | The tree fell on top of the
car and crushed it. 2 [T] to break into a powder by pressure:
This machine crushes wheat grain to make flour. 3 [+adv/prep]
to move in large numbers through or into a small space: The
people crushed through the gates. 4 [T] to destroy com-
pletely, especially by the use of great force: The military
government has ruthlessly crushed all opposition. | a crushing
defeat | (fig.) He was crushed/His hopes were crushed by the
chairman's remark.
crush² n 1 [S] uncomfortable pressure caused by a large
crowd of people filling a small space: There was such a crush
on the train that I could hardly breathe. 2 [U] a drink made
by crushing fruit and adding water: orange crush -> compare
SQUASH 3 [C(on)] infml a strong but short-lived feeling of love
for someone, like that often experienced by a TEENAGER; an
INFATUATION: Did you have a crush on one of the teachers
when you were at school?
'crush barrier n a fence used to keep back crowds at
football matches, processions etc -> compare CRASH BARRIER
Crusoe, Robinson -> see ROBINSON CRUSOE
crust /krʌst/ n [C;U] 1 (a piece of) the hard usually brown
outer surface of baked bread 2 the baked pastry on a PIE 3 a
hard outer covering, as of earth or snow: a thin crust of ice
on the aeroplane's wing 4 the hard outer layer of the Earth:
deep within the Earth's crust -> see also UPPER CRUST; see
picture at EARTH
crus·ta·cean /krʌ'steʃən/ n any of a group of animals
with a hard outer shell that are closely related to the insects:
Lobsters, crabs, and shrimps are crustaceans. —crustacean
adj
crust·y /'krʌsti/ adj 1 having a hard well-baked crust: a
crusty loaf 2 bad-tempered; SURLY: a crusty old soldier —ily
adv —iness n [U]
crutch /krʌtʃ/ n 1 a stick with a piece that fits under the
arm, for supporting a person who has difficulty in walking:
When she broke her leg she had to walk on crutches. 2 some-
thing that provides support or a help: Her religion was a
crutch to her when John died. 3 CROTCH
crux /krʌks/ n [the] the central or most important part of a
problem: The crux of the matter is ...
Cruyff, Jo·han /'krɔɪf, 'jəʊhən||joʊ'hɑ:n/ (1947–) a Dutch
football player, considered to be one of the greatest players
ever, who played for Holland, Ajax, and Barcelona in the
1970s. He was a successful manager for Ajax and Barcelona
in the 1980s.
Cruz, Penelope /kru:z/ (1974–) a Spanish actress who is
considered to be very attractive and who has been in many
English-language films, including All the Pretty Horses, Cap-
tain Corelli's Mandolin, and Vanilla Sky.
cry¹ /kraɪ/ v 1 [I;T] to produce (tears) from the eyes as a sign
of sorrow: She cried bitterly when she heard the news of her
friend's death. | a sad love story that made me cry | The baby
was crying for milk. (=because he was hungry) | to cry oneself
to sleep (=cry till you fall asleep) | to cry tears of disappoint-
ment -> compare WEEP
CULTURAL NOTE In the US and the UK, women are allowed
by society to cry, but men do not cry very much. It is
acceptable for men to cry in particular situations, for
example when someone has died, but most men do not
feel comfortable crying at other times. A young boy who
cries is sometimes disapproved of, and called a CRYBABY.
2 [(OUT)] to make loud sounds expressing fear, pain, surprise,
or some other feeling: He cried out with pain when he burnt
his fingers. 3 [I (for);T (OUT)] to call loudly; shout: She cried out
for help. | 'Help!' he cried, as he fell into the water. 4 [I] to
make the natural sound of certain animals and birds: Can
you hear the seagulls crying? 5 [T] old use to make known
publicly by shouting: to cry the news 6 cry for the moon BrE
infml to demand something impossible 7 cry one's eyes/
heart out to cry very sadly and usually for a long time:
When his dog died he cried his eyes out. 8 cry over spilt milk
to waste time being sorry about something which cannot
now be changed: It's no use crying over spilt milk – we've got
to decide what to do next. 9 cry wolf to call for help unneces-
sarily, risking the possibility that people will not believe that
you need help later when you really do (from AESOP's story
of a boy who was guarding sheep. He kept shouting 'Wolf!'
even though there was no wolf there, because he found his
work boring, so that when a WOLF really did come, no one
believed him.): A spokesman for the Theatre Campaign said:
'No longer can the government say we are crying wolf. Cuts
have gone so deep that we are now reduced to shutting theatres
for a time.' 10 for crying out loud slang (used to give strength
to a demand, request etc): For crying out loud shut that door!
cry sthg. <=> down phr v [T] BrE to express an unfavourable
opinion of
cry off phr v [I] BrE to say you will not fulfil a promise or
agreement: He tried to cry off at the last moment, but we held
him to his promise.
cry out against sthg. phr v [T pass. rare] to express loudly
your strong disapproval of: The villagers cried out against the
building of a motorway which would cut right through the
village.
cry out for sthg. phr v [T no pass.] to be in great need of;
demand urgently: The country is crying out for rain.
cry² n 1 [C(of)] any loud sound expressing fear, pain, or other
strong feeling: a cry of anger/pain/fear/delight 2 [C(for)] a
loud call; shout: There was a loud cry from the direction of
the woodshed. | a cry of 'Stop, thief!' 3 [S] a period of crying:
You'll feel better after you've had a (good) cry. 4 [C] the
natural sound made by certain animals or birds: the warning
cry of a mother bird to her chicks 5 [C] a call to action: a
battle cry (=to show or encourage bravery in a battle) | The
demand for tax cuts is the party's favourite rallying cry.
(=used to encourage support) -> see also WAR CRY 6 in full
cry BrE (of a group of dogs) making loud noises as they hunt
an animal: (fig.) At the meeting, the parents were in full cry,
demanding further government spending on schools. -> see
also HUE AND CRY, a far cry (FAR)
'Cry, the Be,loved Country a book by Alan Paton about a
black MINISTER (=Christian priest) and his family in South