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nook

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any (old) nook or cranny

Any part or section of a given place, especially those that are hard to see or reach. I don't know where you put your keys, they could be in any nook or cranny. There are so many books in the library that you can find all sorts of interesting things in any old nook or cranny there.

See also: any, cranny, nook

nook and cranny

Every possible place or part of something, down to the smallest ones. You need to clean every nook and cranny of this room before your grandmother gets here—it has to be spotless for her! I looked in every nook and cranny of the attic and couldn't find that box anywhere.

See also: and, cranny, nook

nook or cranny

Every possible place or part of something, down to the smallest ones. You need to clean every nook or cranny of this room before your grandmother gets here—it has to be spotless for her! I looked in every nook or cranny of the attic and couldn't find that box anywhere.

See also: cranny, nook

every nook and cranny

Fig. every small, out-of-the-way place or places where something can be hidden. We looked for the tickets in every nook and cranny. They were lost. There was no doubt. The decorator had placed flowers in every nook and cranny.

See also: and, cranny, every, nook

every nook and cranny

every part of a place Law books were stuffed into every nook and cranny of his office.

See also: and, cranny, every, nook

every nook and cranny

every part of a place This house is where I grew up. I know every nook and cranny of it.

See also: and, cranny, every, nook

nook and cranny, every

Everywhere, as in I've searched for it in every nook and cranny, and I still can't find it. This metaphoric idiom pairs nook, which has meant "an out-of-the-way corner" since the mid-1300s, with cranny, which has meant "a crack or crevice" since about 1440. Neither noun is heard much other than in this idiom.

See also: and, every, nook