Crank

[krangk] /kræŋk/

noun
1.
Machinery. any of several types of arms or levers for imparting rotary or oscillatory motion to a rotating shaft, one end of the crank being fixed to the shaft and the other end receiving reciprocating motion from a hand, connecting rod, etc.
2.
Informal. an ill-tempered, grouchy person.
3.
an unbalanced person who is overzealous in the advocacy of a private cause.
4.
an eccentric or whimsical notion.
5.
a strikingly clever turn of speech or play on words.
6.
Archaic. a bend; turn.
7.
Slang. the nasal decongestant propylhexedrine, used illicitly for its euphoric effects.
8.
Automotive Slang. a .
verb (used with object)
9.
to bend into or make in the shape of a crank.
10.
to furnish with a crank.
11.
Machinery. to rotate (a shaft) by means of a crank.
12.
to start (an internal-combustion engine) by turning the crankshaft manually or by means of a small motor.
13.
to start the engine of (a motor vehicle) by turning the crankshaft manually.
verb (used without object)
14.
to turn a crank, as in starting an automobile engine.
15.
Obsolete. to turn and twist; zigzag.
adjective
16.
unstable; shaky; unsteady.
17.
of, relating to, or by an unbalanced or overzealous person:
a crank phone call; crank mail.
18.
British Dialect. 1 (def 5).
Verb phrases
19.
crank down, to cause to diminish or terminate:
the president’s efforts to crank down inflation.
20.
crank in/into, to incorporate as an integral part:
Overhead is cranked into the retail cost.
21.
crank out, to make or produce in a mass-production, effortless, or mechanical way:
She’s able to crank out one best-selling novel after another.
22.
crank up, Informal.

[krangk] /kræŋk/
adjective, Nautical.
1.
Also, cranky. having a tendency to roll easily, as a boat or ship; tender (opposed to ).
noun
2.
a crank vessel.
[krangk] /kræŋk/
adjective, British Dialect.
1.
lively; high-spirited.
/kræŋk/
noun
1.
a device for communicating motion or for converting reciprocating motion into rotary motion or vice versa. It consists of an arm projecting from a shaft, often with a second member attached to it parallel to the shaft
2.
Also called crank handle, starting handle. a handle incorporating a crank, used to start an engine or motor
3.
(informal)

verb
4.
(transitive) to rotate (a shaft) by means of a crank
5.
(transitive) to start (an engine, motor, etc) by means of a crank handle
6.
(transitive) to bend, twist, or make into the shape of a crank
7.
(intransitive) (obsolete) to twist or wind
/kræŋk/
adjective
1.
(of a sailing vessel) easily keeled over by the wind; tender
n.

Old English *cranc, implied in crancstæf “a weaver’s instrument,” crencestre “female weaver, spinster,” from Proto-Germanic base *krank-, and related to crincan “to bend, yield” (see crinkle, cringe). English retains the literal sense of the ancient root, while German and Dutch krank “sick,” formerly “weak, small,” is a figurative use.

The sense of “an eccentric person,” especially one who is irrationally fixated, is first recorded 1833, said to be from the crank of a barrel organ, which makes it play the same tune over and over; but more likely a back-formation from cranky (q.v.). Meaning “methamphetamine” attested by 1989.
v.

1590s, “to zig-zag,” from crank (n.). Meaning “to turn a crank” is first attested 1908, with reference to automobile engines. Related: Cranked; cranking.

modifier

noun

[perhaps fr the crank of a barrel organ, by which one can play the same tune over and over again; applied by Donn Piatt to the publisher Horace Greeley]

(Automotive slang) Verb used to describe the performance of a machine, especially sustained performance. “This box cranks (or, cranks at) about 6 megaflops, with a burst mode of twice that on vectorised operations.”
[Jargon File]
(1994-12-01)