cracking n.
(UK Und.) housebreaking; also attrib.
 | Manchester Wkly Times 23 Aug. 11/3: They tell of deeds of darkness, some of which in the cracking line would cause the blood of an honest man to run cold. | |
![[UK]](/static/img/flags/uk.png "United Kingdom") | Leaves from Diary of Celebrated Burglar 10/2: ‘Buzzing’ at that moment was high in the market, while ‘cracking’ appeared to me considerably below par. | |
| Sportsman (London) ‘Notes on News’ 26 Jan. 2/2: When a ‘gentleman’ is detected in the area of another gentleman’s house, provided with a cord, a short poker, a ‘jemmy’ [...] one cannot help coming to the concluion that a little ‘cracking’ business is in the wind. | |
| Tag, Rag & Co. 33: There’s nothing too bad for them jokers, from smuggling to cabin-cracking – boarding coasters and that sort of craft left at anchor [...] and breaking into the captain’s cabin. | |
![[US]](/static/img/flags/us.png "United States") | Tales of the Ex-Tanks 269: I told him I hadn’t got around to the cracking game yet. | |
| Keys to Crookdom 402: Cracking. Breaking into a place or safe. |
In compounds
(UK Und.) a burglary.
| Leaves from Diary of Celebrated Burglar 41/1: I [...] made up my mind that at all events this should be the last ‘cracking-job’ I would engage in. |
(UK Und.) burglary tools.
| Londres et les Anglais 313/2: cracking tools, [...] outils brisants, qui servent à commettre le vol avec effraction. |