Comments on: A crack at https://plainenglish.com/expressions/a-crack-at/ Upgrade your English Sat, 19 Jul 2025 03:22:40 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.8.2 By: Dario https://plainenglish.com/expressions/a-crack-at/#comment-19028 Sat, 19 Jul 2025 03:22:40 +0000 https://plainenglish.com/?post_type=expressions&p=14540#comment-19028 I am studying english to get a crack at job opportunity abroad.

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By: Jeff https://plainenglish.com/expressions/a-crack-at/#comment-16406 Tue, 20 Aug 2024 01:21:09 +0000 https://plainenglish.com/?post_type=expressions&p=14540#comment-16406 In reply to YURI EZAKI.

All the examples of “take a crack at” are correct. The first one sounds the most natural in context.

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By: YURI EZAKI https://plainenglish.com/expressions/a-crack-at/#comment-16369 Sat, 17 Aug 2024 12:49:15 +0000 https://plainenglish.com/?post_type=expressions&p=14540#comment-16369 Every time I come to the courthouse – as I’m a court clerk – climbing the old, grey linoleum staircase step by step, I think, I must take a crack at writing something: something so good that I no longer have to tread upon these shallow stairs one by one, early in the morning, to breathe in the dense air that fills my workplace, where every mistake is exaggerated and turns into a possible cause of a bonus cut. I’ll be a writer so good that everyone knows my name. Stepping into the office, however, the sunlight hits my eyes – when it’s sunny – and with the joy of morning, I temporarily forget that I had just decided to take a crack at taking back my life. Then the noon comes, the sun sets, and the night falls. I’ll be sitting in my room again and think: writing novels? No way. I don’t even remember what the day was like. At the end of the day, I know I always have to reconcile with the life I have, just so that I can peacefully fall asleep. When that day comes, I won’t take a crack at it, I’ll be just doing it. In the back of my mind, I laugh at my own incompetence and then, I’m asleep.

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By: Jeff https://plainenglish.com/expressions/a-crack-at/#comment-2834 Sun, 21 Aug 2022 17:34:52 +0000 https://plainenglish.com/?post_type=expressions&p=14540#comment-2834 In reply to Eugene.

Great! So, one little note. To “get a crack at” is to be given the opportunity. So, you already have the opportunity to record the video (just follow this link). What you mean here is that one day you will attempt it. In that case, you would say “One of these days I’m going to take a crack at recording a celebration video.”

So you “get a crack at” when someone gives you the chance to try something.
You “take a crack at” when you already have the chance and you decide to take the opportunity.

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By: Eugene https://plainenglish.com/expressions/a-crack-at/#comment-2810 Thu, 18 Aug 2022 15:22:57 +0000 https://plainenglish.com/?post_type=expressions&p=14540#comment-2810 One of these days I’m going to get a crack at recording a celebration video for 500th lesson!

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By: Jeff https://plainenglish.com/expressions/a-crack-at/#comment-2793 Mon, 15 Aug 2022 18:45:16 +0000 https://plainenglish.com/?post_type=expressions&p=14540#comment-2793 In reply to Claudio.

Yes, exactly – but you need a verb here – “…so he asked his employees to take a crack at the problem.”

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By: Jeff https://plainenglish.com/expressions/a-crack-at/#comment-2791 Mon, 15 Aug 2022 18:44:16 +0000 https://plainenglish.com/?post_type=expressions&p=14540#comment-2791 In reply to Cemre.

This is a good time to use “take another crack at”. Bankrupt is a strange word. When used in the active voice, believe it or not, the subject is the cause of the bankruptcy. So you would say, “The drought bankrupted many farmers” or “COVID-19 bankrupted many restaurants.” When you’re talking about people or businesses, you say “go bankrupt.” For example: “The restaurant went bankrupt after the pandemic.” So in this case, you can say, “The company owners decided to take another crack at business by operating in a brand new field after their first company went bankrupt.”

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By: Jeff https://plainenglish.com/expressions/a-crack-at/#comment-2789 Mon, 15 Aug 2022 18:39:48 +0000 https://plainenglish.com/?post_type=expressions&p=14540#comment-2789 In reply to Oscar.

Great example! Just a few edits: “After a few months away from Plain English, I decided to have another crack at Jeff and JR’s work.”

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By: Claudio https://plainenglish.com/expressions/a-crack-at/#comment-2783 Sat, 13 Aug 2022 16:00:49 +0000 https://plainenglish.com/?post_type=expressions&p=14540#comment-2783 The boss was very busy and didn’t know what to do, so he asked his employees for crack at the problem.

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By: Cemre https://plainenglish.com/expressions/a-crack-at/#comment-2781 Sat, 13 Aug 2022 13:56:12 +0000 https://plainenglish.com/?post_type=expressions&p=14540#comment-2781 The company owners decided to get a crack at their business by operating in brand new field after bankrupted.

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