cracking
adjEtymology Inherited from Middle English crakynge.
1
That cracks; that produces a sharp sound as of something splitting or breaking.
- From the spot where the body lay came a fierce fizzing and cracking sound, which ceased, however, before the fumes had cleared away.1886 October – 1887 January, H[enry] Rider Haggard, She: A History of Adventure, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., published 1887, →OCLC:
2
Colloquial Great; excellent.
- Near-synonym: crackerjack
- The race started at a cracking pace.
1 more example
- That's a cracking example of what we've been looking for.
3
Colloquial Enjoyable.
- We had a cracking time.
- Near the back of the concourse is a piano, [...]. Explains Reeve: "It was donated by a lady who had written to me. My Duty Manager at the time had a qualification and so was able to restore it to full working order. I've heard some cracking tunes on it."2020 December 30, Richard Clinnick, “Greater Anglia strikes again...”, in Rail, page 43: