Crack the door

[nwhitman@ameritech.net]

At night, my wife will ask me to "crack the door" before we watch TV, so it won't keep the kids awake. I think, "what, *open* the door!? That doesn't make sense!" Then I notice the door's already wide open, and I realize she doesn't mean take it from closed to slightly open, but from wide open to slightly open.

I can't get that meaning any more than I can say I've cracked a plate when I've glued together the pieces of a broken plate. Can any of you? For doors and windows, or just one or the other?

Neal Whitman

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