4 ms·

"Crack engineer" means an engineer who is smart and capable. "Cracked engineer" means an engineer who is insane.

• n_jd 2y ago
  It's just how the kids and the terminally online are saying it these days
  • brcmthrowaway 2y ago
    Cracked founders!
  • cthalupa 2y ago
    Not even particularly new. I remember seeing it used talking about Counter-Strike pros in the early 2000s
• echelon 2y ago
  > (slang) Extremely good at something (usually a video game). >> 20 kills? Dude, you're cracked. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/cracked https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/cracked
  • VyseofArcadia 2y ago
    Except for the very online, I think meaning 5 > (slang) Crazy; crackpot. is more common in every day use than meaning 4 >(slang) Extremely good at something (usually a video game). Neither the Merriam-Webster dictionary nor the Cambridge dictionary[0] list meaning 4, further hinting that it is a use that is mostly occurring in niche online communities. Note that I'm not saying meaning 4 is incorrect[1]. There's no such thing. Words is words. Usage is meaning. But I think I am justified in my belief that it is still relatively uncommon. [0] The OED wanted money to show me their list of meanings. [1] Although it is almost assuredly a mishearing of "crack".
    • sn9 2y ago
      This is an extremely online place filled with people who game or are gamer-adjacent. This intended meaning is obvious from context.
    • echelon 2y ago
      It's generational. Gen Alpha increasingly use "cracked" to mean talented. Even "S-tier" has crept into the non-gamer vernacular. My wife and her friends - not gamers - are using it. TikTok spreads this stuff like wildfire. https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Cracked https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Cracked https://www.tiktok.com/discover/what-does-cracked-mean-in-slang https://www.tiktok.com/discover/what-does-cracked-mean-in-sl...