crackerjack
a top performer
TRANSLATION
crackerjack = die Kanone (fig.), der Spitzenleister, der Leistungsträger, (DH) --- GOOGLE INDEX crackerjack: approximately 650,000 hits
STATISTICS
IN THE PRESS
Oh, by the way, it also helps to be a CRACKERJACK automotive technician if you want to be successful.
(Motor magazine)
---
In a nutshell, management and leadership skills go hand in hand-to be a good leader, you have to be a CRACKERJACK manager.
(www.techrepublic.com)
(Motor magazine)
---
In a nutshell, management and leadership skills go hand in hand-to be a good leader, you have to be a CRACKERJACK manager.
(www.techrepublic.com)
Did you
know?
crackerjack
noun (slang)
- a person or thing of marked excellence
(Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary)
adjective (slang)
- of excellent quality or ability; fine
(The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000)
---
WORD ORIGIN
Crackerjack was probably created by combining "crack", meaning excellence or quality, and "jack", which is slang for a man. It can be used either as a noun (She's a real crackerjack!) or as an adjective (He's a crackerjack programmer!).
Crackerjack was also the name of a (now cult) children's television show that aired on the BBC from 1955 to 1984. Each week thousands of kids would pile into the Shepherd's Bush Theatre (later Television Centre) for 45 minutes of games, comedy and music. The show was always introduced by the announcer with "It's Friday, it's five to five... it's Crackerjack!"
A central part of the show was the game Double or Drop, where children were picked from the audience to answer questions, winning prizes for a right answer and cabbages for a wrong one. Contestants who dropped their prize or cabbage were out of the game. There were no losers however, as everyone went home with the much-coveted Crackerjack pencil.
Cracker Jack (note the spelling) is an American snack invented by the German immigrant F.W. Rueckheim in the late 19th century. Rueckheim came to Chicago in 1872 to help clean up after the famous Chicago fire. He also worked selling popcorn from a cart. Together with brother Louis, Rueckheim experimented and came up with a popcorn candy, which they decided to mass market. Cracker Jack was first mass-produced and sold at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair. (The Ferris wheel, Aunt Jemima pancakes and the ice cream cone were also introduced at the event.)
The snack was a mixture of popcorn, molasses, and peanuts initially called "Candied Popcorn and Peanuts." Legend has it that the brand name Cracker Jack came from a customer, who upon trying the treat exclaimed, "That's really a cracker - Jack!" and the name stuck. However, crackerjack was also slang for something pleasing or excellent and that is more likely the real origin.
By 1896, Rueckheim devised a way to keep the popcorn kernels separate, since the molasses tended to make them stick together in chunks. The wax-sealed, moisture-proof box was introduced in 1899. Immortalised in 1908 in the lyrics of "Take Me Out to the Ball Game," Cracker Jack added surprises in each package beginning in 1912. The company claims that more than 23 billion toys have been given out since that time.
(sources: BBC, www.inventors.about.com, www.crackerjack.com)
---
SYNONYMS
(adjective)
able, accomplished, adroit, capable, crack, deft, dexterous, expert, first-class, first-rate, masterful, masterly, practiced, proficient, quick, savvy, sharp, skilled, skilful, slick, whiz, wizard
(noun)
ace, artist, champ, hotshot, maestro, magician, master, maven, natural, old pro, master, pro, prodigy, professional, pundit, ringer, shark, star, superstar, whiz, wizard
(Roget's New Millennium™ Thesaurus)
---
ANTONYMS
(adjective)
awkward, bumbling, clumsy, fumbling, incapable, incompetent, inept, inexperienced, maladroit, unskilled
(noun)
also-ran, amateur, dud, dilettante, failure, flop, flunkey, greenhorn, lemon, neophyte, novice, rookie, turkey, washout
(Roget's New Millennium™ Thesaurus)
---
IMPRESS YOUR FRIENDS TODAY
say something like:
"Go see our IT administrator if you're still having problems with your e-mail. He's a real crackerjack."
noun (slang)
- a person or thing of marked excellence
(Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary)
adjective (slang)
- of excellent quality or ability; fine
(The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000)
---
WORD ORIGIN
Crackerjack was probably created by combining "crack", meaning excellence or quality, and "jack", which is slang for a man. It can be used either as a noun (She's a real crackerjack!) or as an adjective (He's a crackerjack programmer!).
Crackerjack was also the name of a (now cult) children's television show that aired on the BBC from 1955 to 1984. Each week thousands of kids would pile into the Shepherd's Bush Theatre (later Television Centre) for 45 minutes of games, comedy and music. The show was always introduced by the announcer with "It's Friday, it's five to five... it's Crackerjack!"
A central part of the show was the game Double or Drop, where children were picked from the audience to answer questions, winning prizes for a right answer and cabbages for a wrong one. Contestants who dropped their prize or cabbage were out of the game. There were no losers however, as everyone went home with the much-coveted Crackerjack pencil.
Cracker Jack (note the spelling) is an American snack invented by the German immigrant F.W. Rueckheim in the late 19th century. Rueckheim came to Chicago in 1872 to help clean up after the famous Chicago fire. He also worked selling popcorn from a cart. Together with brother Louis, Rueckheim experimented and came up with a popcorn candy, which they decided to mass market. Cracker Jack was first mass-produced and sold at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair. (The Ferris wheel, Aunt Jemima pancakes and the ice cream cone were also introduced at the event.)
The snack was a mixture of popcorn, molasses, and peanuts initially called "Candied Popcorn and Peanuts." Legend has it that the brand name Cracker Jack came from a customer, who upon trying the treat exclaimed, "That's really a cracker - Jack!" and the name stuck. However, crackerjack was also slang for something pleasing or excellent and that is more likely the real origin.
By 1896, Rueckheim devised a way to keep the popcorn kernels separate, since the molasses tended to make them stick together in chunks. The wax-sealed, moisture-proof box was introduced in 1899. Immortalised in 1908 in the lyrics of "Take Me Out to the Ball Game," Cracker Jack added surprises in each package beginning in 1912. The company claims that more than 23 billion toys have been given out since that time.
(sources: BBC, www.inventors.about.com, www.crackerjack.com)
---
SYNONYMS
(adjective)
able, accomplished, adroit, capable, crack, deft, dexterous, expert, first-class, first-rate, masterful, masterly, practiced, proficient, quick, savvy, sharp, skilled, skilful, slick, whiz, wizard
(noun)
ace, artist, champ, hotshot, maestro, magician, master, maven, natural, old pro, master, pro, prodigy, professional, pundit, ringer, shark, star, superstar, whiz, wizard
(Roget's New Millennium™ Thesaurus)
---
ANTONYMS
(adjective)
awkward, bumbling, clumsy, fumbling, incapable, incompetent, inept, inexperienced, maladroit, unskilled
(noun)
also-ran, amateur, dud, dilettante, failure, flop, flunkey, greenhorn, lemon, neophyte, novice, rookie, turkey, washout
(Roget's New Millennium™ Thesaurus)
---
IMPRESS YOUR FRIENDS TODAY
say something like:
"Go see our IT administrator if you're still having problems with your e-mail. He's a real crackerjack."
