crackerjack
crackerjack Lexical Profile
crackerjack Game Scores & Validity
• adjective
North American Exceptionally good, skillful, or effective; of the highest quality.
"The firm hired a crackerjack team of investigative journalists to uncover the financial fraud."
• noun
North American A person or thing of marked excellence, exceptional skill, or superior quality.
"When it comes to repairing vintage mechanical watches, the old craftsman is a real crackerjack."
American The traditional dark blue dress jumper or uniform worn by enlisted personnel in the United States Navy, characterized by its wide sailor collar and white stripes.
"The young sailors stood at attention on the deck in their freshly pressed crackerjacks."
Word Origin & Etymology
Originating in late 19th-century American slang, the term combines 'cracker' (meaning something of top quality, from 'crack' in the sense of superior) with 'jack' (a generic colloquial suffix for a person or thing). It later inspired the name of the famous molasses-coated popcorn snack 'Cracker Jack' in 1896.