crook and nanny

English

Etymology

Spoonerism of nook and cranny, by association with the more common words crook and nanny.

Pronunciation

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Noun

crook and nanny (plural crooks and nannies)

1. (often preceded by every) A very small place.
   • 2008, Wes Goff, City and the Sea: Memories of being a Young Sailor, page 44:

     There's a building in St. Louis called the MEPS Building where doctors probe every crook and nanny of your body to see if you're physically fit enough to join the military.

   • 2003, Kit St. Germain, Thirteenth Fairy, page 246:

     Wouldn't grow straight if you put a splint on 'er. She liked the loopholes in things. The chinks, the crooks and nannies... liked to find healthy little plantlets to choke!

   • 2009, Ted Macey, Merry Swan, Jack the Lad RN, page 17:

     There was sand in every crook and nanny, from truck to keel. As the emerging seamen ran out of expletives so the Kalahari may have run out of sand.

2. (rare, often preceded by every) Average person or people.

   Synonym: average Joe

   • 1995, Gordon Gibson, Thirty million musketeers: one Canada for all Canadians:

     For the currency of the lives of most us, the fashion in the business of the state has been to expand farther and farther into every nook and cranny, seeking the welfare of every crook and nanny.

   • 1997, Mervin Block, Writing broadcast news: shorter, sharper, stronger, page 10:

     We can also start a story with the name of someone who has star quality, a person whose name is widely known—in almost every nook and cranny, by almost every crook and nanny.

   • 2003 October 6, Robert Peffers, “The American Spirit”, in soc.culture.irish‎^[1] (Usenet):

     The criminals could never predict if a Big Polis would be feeling his collar at any time. The beat Polis knew every nook and cranny on his beat, (he knew every crook and nanny too). No one, but no one, would dare to call a Big Polis, "the filth", or similar name in those days.

Synonyms

• nook and cranny