crack a crust

English

Verb

crack a crust (third-person singular simple present cracks a crust, present participle cracking a crust, simple past and past participle cracked a crust)

1. (UK, slang, idiomatic, obsolete) To make a living.

   Synonym: rub along

   • 1880, Arthur Hamilton, The Confessions of a Scribbler, page 80:

     Yet for all this I do not hear one giving him a good name, though there are many cracking a crust on his account.

   • 1947, Robert Briffault, New Life of Mr. Martin, page 270:

     "Cracking a tidy crust, thank you, mate," Abe said sheepishly.

   • 1997, Eric Lane, Nina Shengold, Plays for Actresses, page 585:

     BIANCA: Well, it's a cooshy enough way to crack a crust...

References

• John Camden Hotten (1873) The Slang Dictionary