to couldn't help but crow
- idiom
- Informal
:
no pudo evitar presumir
- They couldn't help but crow over their team's decisive victory.
Examples
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After scoring the winning goal, he couldn't help but crow about his achievement.
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She couldn't help but crow when the promotion was announced.
-
After winning the award, she couldn't help but crow!
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He couldn't help but crow about his promotion.
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After winning the championship, he couldn't help but crow about his amazing performance.
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She couldn't help but crow when her artwork was featured in a renowned gallery.
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Whenever he completes a challenging project, he just can't help but crow about his achievements.
Synonyms
191
2.7
To talk in a proud way about yourself or what you have
60
6.9
Show pleasure about your success or someone else's failure in a way that makes others feel bad
8
7.8
To say you are more important or successful than you really are
7
7.5
To talk proudly about things you have done
6
7.9
To brag in a way that annoys other people
4
7.0
To act or speak in a proud, boastful way
1
7.8
To talk proudly about your own abilities or achievements
To talk proudly about your success in public
To talk too proudly about yourself or what you have done
To brag about what you have done
Antonyms
How Boastful
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly derivable from the parts: 'couldn't' (unable), 'help' (prevent), 'but' (introducing the action) and 'crow' (to boast) together yield 'unable to refrain from boasting'. The pattern 'can't/couldn't help (but) + verb' is a common, compositional English construction and has clear parallels in many languages, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents should understand it.
Etymology
Couldn't help but crow uses crow in the picture of a proud rooster making a loud call it cannot stop. So when someone 'couldn't help but crow' after success, it means they could not stop bragging or 'boasting' about it.