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people connect the Crimean War with Florence NIGHTINGALE, who cared for the injured soldiers and developed new ideas about nursing, and with a battle called the CHARGE OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE, a serious military mistake in which many British soldiers were killed.
,crime of 'passion n a crime, usually murder, resulting from sexual jealousy and popularly believed to often be punished more lightly by a judge
Crime·watch /'kraɪmwɒtʃ||-wɑːtʃ -wːtʃ/ a British television programme which gives details about crimes that have not yet been solved and asks people to telephone the programme or the police if they have any helpful information about the crime
crim·i·nal¹ /'krɪmɪnəl/ adj 1 being a crime: a criminal offence (=a serious offence, especially one that you could be sent to prison for) | criminal behaviour/tendencies 2 [A no comp.] of crime or its punishment: Does he have a criminal record? | Her attorney advised her to institute criminal proceedings against her employers. → compare CIVIL 3 infml very wrong: a criminal waste of money —–ly adv
criminal² n a person who is guilty of crime: Prison is a place for punishing criminals. | Putting these young men into prison alongside hardened criminals (=men who have been guilty of many crimes) is the surest way to make them reoffend.
,criminal 'damage n the offence of deliberately damaging or destroying the property of another person
crim·i·nal·ize also -ise BrE /'krɪmɪnəlaɪz/ v [T] to cause to become a criminal —ization /ˌkrɪmɪnəlaɪ'zeʃən||-nələ-/ n [U]
,Criminal 'Justice ,Bill, the n a series of changes to British law in 1995, officially called the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act, which changed the law concerning a person's right to silence (=their right to say nothing when the police ARREST them, or when they are on trial in a court of law), and also made the laws against squatting (SQUAT = living in a building without the owner's permission) and trespassing (TRESPASS = being on someone's land without their permission) much stricter
,criminal 'law n [U] the law concerning crimes and their punishments: She's an expert in criminal law. → compare CANON LAW, CIVIL LAW, COMMON LAW → see Feature on page A23
,Criminal 'Records ,Bureau, the abbrev. CRB a British government organization that keeps records of all people who have been found guilty of a crime. Employers can ask the Criminal Records Bureau to check if someone has a CRIMINAL RECORD before deciding whether or not to offer them a job. Some jobs, especially jobs that involve working with children, cannot be given to people who have been to prison.
crim·i·nol·o·gy /ˌkrɪmɪ'nɒlədʒi||-'nɑː-/ n [U] the scientific study of crime and criminals —gist n
crimp¹ /krɪmp/ v [T] to press (especially hair) into small regular folds
crimp² n infml, especially AmE something that spoils or limits: The thought of that meeting has really put a crimp in my day!
Crim·plene /'krɪmpliːn/ trademark a type of artificially made material used for clothes, which tends not to develop CREASES when it is folded or crushed. Crimplene was very popular and fashionable in the 1960s, but most people would not wear it now.
crim·son¹ /'krɪmzn/ adj having a deep purplish red colour: a crimson sky | She turned crimson with embarrassment.
—crimson n
crimson² v [I;T] to (cause to) become crimson: His face crimsoned when he saw her watching him.
cringe /krɪndʒ/ v [I] 1 to bend and move back, especially from fear; COWER: The dog cringed when it saw my stick. 2 [(before, to)] to behave without self-respect towards someone in a more important or powerful position: He always cringes before/to the boss. 3 [(at)] infml to have a very uncomfortable feeling of shame or dislike: I cringed with embarrassment when my father was rude to my teacher.
crin·kle¹ /'krɪŋkəl/ v [I;T] to (cause to) become covered with fine lines or folds, for example by pressing or crushing: My clothes were all crinkled when I got them out of the case. | to crinkle one's nose in disgust
crinkle² n a fold or line made for example by crushing cloth or paper → compare WRINKLE
crin·kly /'krɪŋkli/ adj 1 having many crinkles 2 (of hair) curly —kliness n [U]
crin·o·line /'krɪnəʃɔːn/ n a woman's stiff undergarment worn in former times to support a full skirt
cripes /kraɪps/ interj old-fash slang, especially BrE (an expression of surprise)
Crip·pen, Dr. /'krɪpən/ (1862-1910) a US doctor who murdered his wife in England and then tried to escape to the US on a ship. The ship received a MORSE CODE message from the police, and as a result he was caught. Dr. Crippen is known as being the first criminal to be caught in this way.
crip·ple¹ /'krɪpəl/ n someone who is unable to use one or more of their limbs properly, especially the legs (usually considered offensive to disabled people) → see also DISABLED
cripple² v [T] 1 to hurt or wound (a person) so that use of one or more of the limbs is made difficult or impossible: The accident crippled him for life. | a crippling blow 2 infml to damage or weaken seriously: The country was crippled by the war. | the company's crippling debts
Cris·co /'krɪskəʊ/ trademark a type of vegetable fat or vegetable oil used in cooking, which is sold in the US
cri·sis /'kraɪsɪs/ n pl. -ses /-siːz/ 1 a point or moment of great danger, difficulty, or uncertainty: The sudden rise in oil prices led to an economic crisis. | The present housing crisis (=severe shortage of housing) is the result of years of neglect. | Relations between the two countries have reached crisis point. 2 the time in a serious illness at which there is a sudden change for better or worse
'crisis ,line also ,hotline n AmE a telephone service which offers free help to people who think themselves to be in a particular crisis: a crisis line for the parents of missing children → compare HELPLINE
'crisis ,management n [U] the art or process of keeping a situation of great danger or uncertainty under control: Once news of the redundancies leaks out, your job will become largely an exercise in crisis management.
,crisis of 'confidence n pl. -ses of confidence a point when confidence in a plan, person, company etc becomes very weak: The crisis of confidence in the party led to its leader's downfall.
crisp¹ /krɪsp/ also potato crisp BrE || potato chip AmE & AustrE — n a thin piece of potato cooked in very hot fat, dried, and sold in packets; crisps are generally considered to be not a very healthy food: I'll have a pint of beer and a packet of crisps, please.
crisp² adj 1 hard; dry; easily broken: crisp pastry | crisp bacon 2 firm and fresh, as if recently made or grown: a crisp apple | crisp vegetables | a crisp new five-pound note/five-dollar bill 3 (of the air, weather etc) cold, dry, and fresh: a crisp winter day 4 (of style, manners etc) quick and confident; showing no doubts or slowness; BRISK: a crisp reply/performance 5 (of hair) tightly curled —–ly adv —–ness n [U]
crisp³ v [I;T(UP)] to (cause to) become crisp, especially by cooking or heating
Crisp, Quen·tin /'kwentɪn/ (1908-99) a writer and CRITIC who was born in the UK but went to live in the US. He is known especially for writing The Naked Civil Servant (1968) and for being HOMOSEXUAL, and for his clever and amusing opinions and strange clothes.
crisp·bread /'krɪspbred/ n a dry unsweetened BISCUIT made from grain, often eaten by people wanting to lose weight, in place of bread, or by those who consider it to be a healthy food
crisp·y /'krɪspi/ adj infml CRISP² —iness n [U]
criss·cross /'krɪskrɒs||-krɔːs/ n a pattern made by crossing a lot of straight lines; network of lines: a crisscross design
—crisscross v [I;T] railway lines crisscrossing the map
cri·te·ri·on /kraɪ'tɪəriən/ n pl. -ria /-riə/, -rions an established standard or principle, on which a judgment or decision is based: What criteria do you use to judge a good wine? | Our proposal failed to meet the criteria established by the government, so they gave us no money.