PHRASAL VERB CRACK
This is the Rachel’s English 30-day challenge:
Learn 30 phrasal verbs in 30 days: jumpstart
your vocabulary in 2017.
Today is day 1, the first day of your 30-day
challenge.
We’ll be studying ‘crack’ phrasal verbs.
Since this is day 1 of your challenge, let’s
start with a brief definition.
What is a phrasal verb?
A phrasal verb is a two-word, sometimes 3-word
combination of a verb plus another word, usually
an adverb, like break up, or a preposition,
like sleep on: Let me sleep on it.
These phrasal verbs have so many different
meanings, and idiomatic meanings, figurative
meanings.
They’re important to know because they pop
up in conversation all the time.
Crack.
I like this one because we have down and up.
Down, up, these seem like opposites.
But ‘crack down’ and ‘crack up’ are
not opposites, they simply have two totally
separate meanings.
‘Crack down’ means to be more forceful,
more severe in the enforcement of a punishment,
or of a rule.
For example: The police are cracking down
on underage drinking.
Or: The university is cracking down on plagiarism.
When you put the two words together, they
become a compound word, a noun.
Same idea: a ‘crackdown’ is a severe or
stern enforcement of rules, laws, or regulations.
There’s been a crackdown on speeding.
It’s also the name of a video game.
Have you played it?
I have not.
‘Crack up’ has nothing to do with rules,
regulation, or enforcement.
It has several different meanings.
First, it has to do with mental health.
If you are not well, depressed or under pressure
or anxious, and you have an event like a mental
breakdown or a psychotic break, you ‘crack
up’.
She cracked up because of the pressure of
her new job.
This can also be a one-word noun: He had a
crackup during finals.
Or, he’s a crackup, he’s mentally ill.
Now, when you use it as a noun, “He’s
a crack up”, it’s more harsh than saying
someone is mentally ill.
It’s kind of writing that person off.
There’s no sympathy for the illness when
you call someone a crackup.
But it also has a meaning that’s very different:
when something is hilarious, very funny, and
you laugh and laugh, you are cracking up.
That movie cracked me up.
I cracked up.
It’s also used in the phrase ‘cracked
up to be’, meaning, supposed to be, or expected.
“He’s cracked up to be the greatest pitcher
of all time.”
But usually the phrase is used in the negative,
when something or someone doesn’t meet expectations,
it’s not all it’s cracked up to be.
Fame isn’t everything it’s cracked up
to be.
The word ‘crack’ starts with the CR consonant
cluster.
Cr-, cr-.
Your lips can form the R as you make the K
sound with the back of the tongue, kr.
The front part of your tongue can also be
in position, pulled up and back, for the R,
kr.
Then all you have to do is release the back
of the tongue, cr-, cra-.
Then the AA vowel.
Lots of jaw drop for this one.
The back of the tongue lifts, the tip of the
tongue stays down.
AA.
Cra-, crack.
And another K sound at the end, back of the
tongue lifts up to touch the soft palate and
releases.
Kk.
Crack.
Crack.
To review, you can crack down on something
when you’re serious about the rules.
When you crack up, it can either mean you’ve
had a bit of a mental break down, or the complete
opposite, you’ve laughed really hard at
something.
It can also mean expected, and is usually
used in the negative: making YouTube videos
isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.
It looks simple, but each video takes so much
time!
To catch all of the videos in this 30-day
challenge, be sure to subscribe to my YouTube
channel and like Rachel’s English on Facebook.
Click the links in the description.
This 30-day challenge is leading up to a phrasal
verbs course that will be available in my
online school on February 1.
Rachel’s English Academy is a collection
of online courses focusing on English conversation,
pronunciation, and listening comprehension.
You will understand Americans better, and
speak better English, with these courses.
Visit RachelsEnglishAcademy.com to sign up
and get started today.
See the 30-day challenge playlist here and
be sure to subscribe to my channel.
Keep in touch with details like my online
school and courses by signing up for my mailing
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