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Jade2005 Posted 21 years ago
Vocabulary

hook & crook?

Hello,everyone.I met a sentence with "by hook or by crook".Is there anyone who can u tell me the differences between the words "hook" and "crook"?Emotion: smile
  

Top answer

Hiya Jade, I would think a hook is necessarily a practical device for catching and lifting things up. Whereas a crook is more of an ornamental or decorative thing... But that's just me talking, others might have a different version of it !

  • Hiya Jade, I would think a hook is necessarily a practical device for catching and lifting things up.
  • Whereas a crook is more of an ornamental or decorative thing...
  • But that's just me talking, others might have a different version of it !
  • Waïti.
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4 Answers
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Hiya Jade,
I would think a hook is necessarily a practical device for catching and lifting things up.
Whereas a crook is more of an ornamental or decorative thing...
But that's just me talking, others might have a different version of it !
Waïti.
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hi Jade2005,

A crook in this context means a dishonest person or even an outlaw.

'by hook or cook' is an expression that someone will do whatever it takes to get what they want, even if it means involving in a wicked or unlawful manner.

Example:

I'm going to get that guy by hook or crook.

It means I don't care if he l
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to do sth by hook or crook is an idiom and it means by any means.

Tom has decided to get Ann's phone number by hook or by crook.

The sentence means that Tom is determined to get Ann's phone number no matter what it may take to get it; he'll get it even if he has to resort to dishonest trickery.
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Courtesty of http://www.phrases.org.uk

Meaning

By any means possible.

Origin

Possibly from a custom in mediaeval England that allowed peasants to take any deadwood from the royal forest that they could reach with a shepherd's crook or a reaper's b

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