Where "Cut Crook" Comes From
“Cut crook” and “come crook” are Australian phrases for behaving unpleasantly or getting angry. Green’s Dictionary of Slang files them under “crook” used as an adverb meaning unpleasantly or dishonestly, and tags it Australian.
The earliest dated use in Green’s is 10 July 1914 in the Adelaide Sport, which says a woman was “cutting very crook” because her name appeared in the paper. C.J. Dennis uses “crook” in this way in The Moods of Ginger Mick (1916), and a 1926 Perth Mirror has a speaker apologising: “I’m sorry. I went off crook.”
Source:
“She cut crook when she found out the tickets were gone.”
How Aussies Actually Use It
Green’s examples of the phrases are from 1914 (“cutting very crook”) and 1926 (“went off crook”), and it gives no example of “come crook”. The plain word “crook” is still widely used for feeling ill, or being angry.
Say It Like an Aussie
Say it: KUT KROOK.
In conversation:
- She cut crook when she found out the tickets were gone.
- He came crook at the mechanic.
- Don’t cut crook, it’s only a scratch.
Good to know: It’s an old expression for getting angry, and “come crook” means the same. It’s a good one for trivia nights.
See also: Crook, Ropeable, Spit the dummy
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