to start a crusade
- phrasal verb
- Public health advocates are rallying together to start a crusade for better nutrition in schools.
Examples
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In response to the rising pollution levels, environmentalists will start a crusade to protect local wildlife.
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The activist plans to start a crusade aimed at promoting renewable energy in their community.
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You could start a crusade with this, Jenny.
Blog text (32) -
Hey, you vote against him if you like, but... just don't start a crusade, alright?
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But no, I'm done linking anyone who thinks that it's a good idea to start a crusade against someone else's livelihood.
Blog text (14)
Synonyms
To work in a planned way to win support or votes
To try to make political or social change
To campaign strongly for a cause over a long time
To start a planned set of actions to achieve a goal
Antonyms
How Intense
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'to begin an intense, determined campaign' is directly derivable from combining 'start' (to begin) with 'crusade' (a determined public campaign). This is a straightforward verb + noun composition with no opaque idiomatic shift, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents should understand it.
Etymology
Start a crusade comes from long ago when people began large religious wars called crusades to win or protect holy places. So, to start a crusade today means to begin a strong, determined 'campaign' for a cause.