crutch
pronunciation
How to pronounce crutch in British English: UK [krʌtʃ]
How to pronounce crutch in American English: US [ krʌtʃ]
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- Noun:
- a wooden or metal staff that fits under the armpit and reaches to the ground; used by disabled person while walking
- anything that serves as an expedient
Word Origin
- crutch (n.)
- Old English crycce "crutch, staff," from Proto-Germanic *krukjo (cognates: Old Saxon krukka, Middle Dutch crucke, Old High German krucka, German Kröcke "crutch," related to Old Norse krokr "hook;" see crook). Figurative sense is first recorded c. 1600. As a verb, from 1640s. Italian gruccia "crutch," crocco "hook" are Germanic loan-words.
Example
- 1. The hat and crutch are also dancing .
- 2. Anti-castro hard-liners in the u. s.oppose the idea , saying it will only give the communist regime an economic crutch .
- 3. Intended as a temporary fix , these duties soon became a long-term crutch for politically touchy commodities , such as sugar .
- 4. If extrapolation is the forecaster 's friend , mean reversion is the forecaster 's crutch .
- 5. We must use time as a tool not as a crutch .