Words & TermsEveryday life
crook
Bad, unpleasant, unsatisfactory or ill; also dishonest/illegal in Australian senses, and in go crook, angry or abusive.
In a sentence
I’m feeling a bit crook, so I’ll stay home today.
Where it came from
The Australian National Dictionary Centre dates the Australian senses from the 1890s and derives them from crooked; modern dictionaries continue to mark these senses Australian/New Zealand informal.
- Initial era
- 1900–1949
- Where used
- Australian use; no narrower regional pattern established