cracker of a story
- noun
- UK
- That was a cracker of a story, I couldn't stop laughing.
Examples
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He told us a cracker of a story about his travels in India.
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What a cracker of a story!
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Everyone at the party agreed it was a cracker of a story.
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That was a real cracker of a story!
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Everyone at the party agreed it was a cracker of a story that kept us entertained all night.
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He told us a cracker of a story about his adventures in the mountains, and we were all captivated.
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After hearing her cracker of a story, we couldn't stop talking about it for days.
Synonyms
125
2.7
An interesting tale about events that makes people laugh
9
3.1
A book that is so exciting you cannot stop reading
1
3.5
Something told or written in a way that grabs and keeps your attention
1
3.6
A lively story with bright, unusual details that make it interesting
Antonyms
How Entertaining
- Literature
241
4.8
80
2.6
- UK
125
2.7
∞
1.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
cracker + of + a + story
The idiomatic sense 'an excellent or very entertaining story' is not predictable from the literal constituents — 'cracker' is normally known as a food item and 'of a story' does not by itself create an evaluative meaning. The pattern 'a cracker of a ...' is a colloquial, dialectal idiom (chiefly British) where 'cracker' means 'a remarkable thing,' which a B1 learner who only knows the literal words is unlikely to infer.
Etymology
Cracker of a story may come from the small party toy called a cracker, which makes a loud pop and hides a little surprise. Like that pop and surprise, a cracker of a story is exciting and full of unexpected fun, so it means 'an excellent or very entertaining story'.