crooked

Everyday

1. Crooked means not straight; bent, twisted or uneven. tree →
2. A crooked person is dishonest and cheats people. tree →

In the lessons

In everyday life it describes teeth, pictures on a wall, lines, roads and smiles. In maths, a crooked line is not a straight line, so use a ruler. In stories and nursery rhymes («There was a crooked man») it paints a strange or bent shape; it can also mean a cheating villain. Phrases: «a crooked smile», «crooked teeth», «hanging crooked».

Examples

• The picture is hanging crooked on the wall. tree →
• Use a ruler so your lines are not crooked. tree →
• He has a crooked tooth at the front. tree →
• She gave a crooked smile. tree →
• The path was narrow and crooked. tree →
• The crooked shopkeeper sold fake watches. tree →
• There was a crooked man who walked a crooked mile. tree →
• And look, this one is quite crooked! tree →

Note

Pronounced with two syllables, «crook-ed», not like «looked». The verb «crook» (to bend a finger) is rare; «crook» as a noun means a criminal. Opposite: «straight». In geometry a straight line has no bends; a crooked path is longer than the straight line between the same two points.

In Jewish tradition

In the Torah it means twisted in character, not simply bent, and describes people who have turned away from God. The Writings also use it for bent, twisted paths and for things that cannot be made straight.

Interpretation. Moses uses it in his last song to blame Israel for its own faults rather than God. Tradition reads it as a warning to stay on a straight, honest path. Ecclesiastes' saying that the crooked cannot be made straight is read as showing the limits of human power to fix what is wrong.

Examples

• No; His children's is the blemish; a generation crooked and perverse. (Torah DEU.32.5, JPS 1917) tree →
• Who are crooked in their ways, and perverse in their paths; (Writings PRO.2.15, JPS 1917) tree →
• He hath enclosed my ways with hewn stone, He hath made my paths crooked. (Writings LAM.3.9, JPS 1917) tree →
• That which is crooked cannot be made straight; and that which is wanting cannot be numbered. (Writings ECC.1.15, JPS 1917) tree →

Note

Pronounced with two syllables, «crook-ed», not like «looked». The verb «crook» (to bend a finger) is rare; «crook» as a noun means a criminal. Opposite: «straight». In geometry a straight line has no bends; a crooked path is longer than the straight line between the same two points.