Crackerjack
What it means
Exceptionally skillful, effective, or excellent.
Reach for it when giving lively informal praise to a person, team, or piece of work
A crackerjack mechanic returned the delivery van before the morning route.
Words to choose between 6
| playful |
|
|---|---|
| everyday | |
| professional | |
| formal | |
| literary |
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playful
Fits when short informal praise suits a skilled person
Careful Ace is breezy, region-dependent, and may be unclear as an adjective.
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everyday
Fits when strong colloquial praise fits work or service
Careful Top-notch is generic enthusiasm and can sound promotional.
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professional
Fits when high quality should be stated without slang
Careful Excellent is broad and lacks crackerjack's emphasis on energetic competence.
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professional
Fits when developed knowledge or skill is the precise claim
Careful Expert is a status claim and does not describe an excellent object or result.
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formal
Fits when the subject belongs in the highest quality tier
Careful First-rate can sound dated and needs evidence for a ranking claim.
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literary
Fits when unusually high quality deserves elevated praise
Careful Superb emphasizes quality, not quick practical effectiveness.
Opposites 3
- inept
- mediocre
- second-rate
Common phrases 3
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crackerjack team
A crackerjack team traced the leak without closing the whole building.
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crackerjack job
The apprentice did a crackerjack job matching the old joint.
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crackerjack mechanic
The crackerjack mechanic documented every reused part.
Usage notes
Keep in mind
Crackerjack is informal, chiefly North American, and somewhat old-fashioned.
Definitions and examples are written for this site. How words are chosen Recording: Commander Keane, Australian accent, from Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 Updated