Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
all it's cracked up to be

all it's cracked up to be

8 7.7
As good or impressive as people say
  • idiom
  • Informal
translation icon : tan bueno como dicen
  • When you see people like celebrities dying young or doing stupid things, maybe fame and fortune isn't all it is cracked up to be.
  • is it all it's cracked up to be

Examples

  • She thought the movie would be amazing, but it turned out to be not all it's cracked up to be.

  • The same really isn't all it's cracked up to be.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • Being a public company is not all it's cracked up to be.

    Blog text (15)

  • But is getting older really all it's cracked up to be?

    Blog text (22)

  • Safety ain't all it's cracked up to be.

    Captain America: Brave New World (2025)

  • So your first semester wasn't all it was cracked up to be.

    Blog text (17)

  • Their tab is already up around $200, and now they're beginning to wonder if this web stuff is all it's cracked up to be.

    Blog text (27)

  • They said studies show homework isn't all it's cracked up to be, so they don't assign it very much.

    Blog text (15)

  • The restaurant's food looks great in reviews, but it's really not all it's cracked up to be.

  • They told me that city life is exciting, but in reality, it's not all it's cracked up to be.

Synonyms

not bad
vsall it's cracked up to be
  • Informal
134 3.0

Better than expected and quite good

rather questions whether it truly fulfills its reputation rather than mild approval
mean
vsall it's cracked up to be
  • Slang
77 7.5

Very good and impressive at a skill

asks if it truly matches reputation rather than simply calling it good
top notch
vsall it's cracked up to be
  • Informal
38 3.6

Of the highest quality and better than most similar things

evaluates whether it really matches popular reputation rather than praising quality
bang-up
vsall it's cracked up to be
  • Informal
16 7.8

Very good and of high quality

checks whether it lives up to reputation instead of giving lively praise
super-duper
vsall it's cracked up to be
  • Informal
4 7.9

Very good and impressive

instead questions whether it actually equals its reputation rather than exaggerated praise

Antonyms

disappointing
190 1.4

Not as good as you expected or hoped

How Good

excellent
∞ 1.0
all it's cracked up to be
  • Informal
8 7.7
good
∞ 1.0
mediocre
109 4.8

Surface Forms

all it's cracked up to be main

Morphology

all + it's + cracked + up + to + be

The meaning 'as good as people say' relies on the idiomatic use of 'cracked up' (to be praised or reputed) rather than the literal senses of 'cracked' (broken) and 'up' (direction/position). A B1 learner who knows the constituent words would not reliably infer this evaluative meaning, so the expression is non-compositional and unpredictable from its parts.

Etymology

All it's cracked up to be may come from the old idea of cracked up meaning 'praised loudly'. So when we say something is not all it's cracked up to be, we mean it does not live up to the praise and is not as good as people say.