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crash
crash the party
To attend a party without being invited. Come on, let's go crash the neighbors' party—I'm sure they won't mind us showing up. There's always someone who crashes the party and ends up causing trouble.
crash pad
A place where free accommodation is provided on a temporary basis. Because of our spare bedroom, our house has become something of a crash pad for visiting friends and family.
crash the gate
To attend an event, such as a concert, sports match, or party, without being invited or paying to get in. That's way too much money to see them in concert, let's just crash the gate and see them on the sly! There's always a few who crash the gate at my party and end up causing trouble.
crash dive
1. noun A sudden descent, typically in an emergency situation. The phrase is usually applied to submarines and airplanes. Engine two is out, prepare for a crash dive!
2. verb To make such a descent. My brain could barely comprehend that the our lives were in danger before the plane started to crash dive.
crash and burn
1. Lit. [for a plane or car] to crash and burst into flames. The small plane crashed and burned just after it took off.
2. Fig. to fail spectacularly. Poor Chuck really crashed and burned when he made his presentation at the sales meeting.
crash around
to move around in a noisy way Stop crashing around. I'm trying to study. The people upstairs were crashing around and I couldn't get any sleep.
crash course (in something)
a short and intense training course in something. I took a crash course in ballroom dancing so we wouldn't look stupid on the dance floor.
crash down
(around someone or something) and crash down (about someone or something) 1. and crash in (on someone or something) Lit. [for something] to collapse on someone or something. The walls crashed in around the burning house. The branches of the tree crashed down on the roof. The old barn crashed down.
2. Fig. [for the structure and stability of one's life] to fall apart. Her whole life crashed down around her. Everything he was familiar with crashed down about him.
crash into someone or something
to bump or ram into someone or something accidentally or roughly. The student crashed into the door when it opened suddenly. The car crashed into a bus.
crash out (of some place)
to break out of some place, such as a prison. Max and Lefty crashed out of the state prison last week, but they were captured. They crashed out at midnight.
crash something together
to bring things together with great force, making a loud noise. Fred crashed the cymbals together and the sound could have wakened the dead. Don't crash those pans together. It drives me crazy.
crash through something
to break through something forcefully. The cows crashed right through the fence.
crash to the floor
to fall onto the floor and make a crashing sound. The tray of dishes crashed to the floor. Everything crashed to the floor and was broken.
crash together
to ram or move together with great force. The two cars crashed together, making a loud noise. The ships crashed together, opening a gaping hole in the side of one of them.
crash with someone
Sl. to spend the night at someone's place. I don't need a hotel room. I can crash with Tom. There is no room for you to crash with me.
crash and burn
to fail suddenly and completely Gil lost his job and his pension when the company crashed and burned. She watched her parents' marriage crash and burn.
Etymology: based on the image of a crash followed by a fire that completely destroys a vehicle or aircraft
crash and burn
(American & Australian informal) to fail suddenly and completely While the big companies merge, the small companies crash and burn.
crash and burn
1. Fail utterly, as in Dale crashed and burned three times before passing the bar exam. This idiom alludes to a car or airplane that has crashed and caught fire. [Slang; 1970s]
2. In skateboarding and other sports, be taken out of competition by a collision, accident, or fall, as in Although she was favored to win the downhill race, she crashed and burned on her first run . [Slang; 1980s]
crash course
A short, intensive training course, as in Daisy planned to take a crash course in cooking before she got married. [Colloquial; mid-1900s]
crash pad
A free, temporary lodging place, as in The company maintains several crash pads for employees from out-of-town divisions. This expression originally referred to a place affording runaways, drug addicts, and the like somewhere to crash in the sense of "sleep." In time it also was used more broadly, as in the example. [Slang; 1960s]
crash the gate
Gain admittance, as to a party or concert, without being invited or without paying. For example, The concert was outdoors, but heavy security prevented anyone from crashing the gate. This term originally applied to persons getting through the gate at sports events without buying tickets. By the 1920s it was extended to being an uninvited guest at other gatherings and had given rise to the noun gatecrasher for one who did so. [Early 1900s]
crash
1. tv. & in. to attend a party or other event uninvited. (see also
crasher.)
The boys who tried to crash also broke a window. 2. in. to spend the night. I crashed at a friend’s place in the city.
3. in. to sleep. If I don’t crash pretty soon, I’m going to die!
4. n. a place to sleep. I think I know of a crash for tonight.
5. in. [for a computer] to stop working. This thing crashes every time I hit a certain key.
6. n. a total failure of a computer. Crashes are to teach you to back up your data.
7. in. [for any electronic device] to fail. My stereo crashed, so I’ve been watching TV.
8. in. [for a securities market] to lose a significant portion of its value in a short time. The market crashed and scared the stuffing out of everybody.
9. n. a collapse of a securities market. After the crash, a lot of people swore off the market for good.
10. in. to pass out from drinking alcohol to excess. Let’s get Wilbur home before he crashes for good.
crash and burn
1. in. [for a young man] to fail brilliantly with a romance. (see also
go down in flames.)
It stands to reason that if Carole hadn’t shot me down, I wouldn’t have crashed and burned. 2. in. to fail spectacularly. I have to be prepared. I don’t want to crash and burn if I don’t have to.
crash cart
n. a nickname for the hospital cart that carries equipment used to attempt to restore a heartbeat, such as a defibrilator. Get the crash cart to third west.
crashed
1. mod. alcohol intoxicated. There were two crashed freshmen asleep on the lawn.
2. mod. raided by the police. (see also
bust.)
Our pad got crashed, and a lot of kids were arrested. crash and burn
Slang To fail utterly.