crate-dig

English

From crate +‎ dig, first attested in 2005.

crate-dig (third-person singular simple present crate-digs, present participle crate-digging, simple past and past participle crate-dug)

(transitive, intransitive, music, slang) To shop for vintage, rare, or otherwise obscure recordings, especially by looking through crates containing secondhand merchandise.
- 2023 October 2, Richard Villegas, “Three Latin American Music Legends Protecting the Past To Secure the Future”, in Rolling Stone‎^[1]:
  Earlier this year, German crate-digging label Analog Africa released a retrospective of Mayorga’s more exploratory electronic works, while a new album of original compositions titled Cumbia Pishcodélica is slated for release in the coming months via Musicoteca Ecuador.
- 2023 November 6, Phillip Sherburne, “Croaking Frogs, Buzzing Hornets, Squealing Dolphins: A Guide to Smithsonian Folkways’ Best Science and Nature Recordings”, in Pitchfork‎^[2]:
  There’s definitely a nonzero chance that samples from this record might be found in ’90s releases from DJ Shadow and his fellow crate-digging beat miners.

“crate-dig”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.