nutcracker — English Dictionary

Noun

1. An implement for cracking nuts.

2. Any bird of the genus Nucifraga in the crow family.

3. A bootleg mixed drink made from a blend of alcohols and fruit juices.

   Usage

   • New-York-City
   • US usage

   Examples

   More examples (1)

   The colorful bottles have popped up every summer in black and Hispanic communities — from the bodegas of Washington Heights to the stoops of Fort Greene — since the early 1990s. On beach boardwalks, at neighborhood basketball courts and block parties, New Yorkers are drinking nutcrackers, boozy homespun cocktails made from a blend of alcohol and fruit juices.

4. Something that is difficult to figure out; a puzzle.

   Usage

   • Informal

   Synonyms

   head-scratcher

   Examples

   I hadn't been to school for a while so the math was a real nutcracker

Noun

1. a compound lever used to crack nuts open

   Broader terms

   compound lever

2. any of various small short-tailed songbirds with strong feet and a sharp beak that feed on small nuts and insects

   Synonyms

   nuthatch

   Broader terms

   oscineoscine bird

3. speckled birds that feed on nuts

   Broader terms

   corvine bird