by hook and by crook
/baɪ ˈhʊk‿n̩ baɪ ˈkɹʊk/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.36 in modern English
40
Scrabble Score
16
Letters
1
Syllables
10
Unique Chars
Meaning
prep_phrase
Alternative form of by hook or by crook.
Example Sentences
- "Thus, by diverse little make shifts, in that ingenious way which is commonly denominated "by hook and by crook," the worthy pedagogue got on tolerably enough, and was thought, by all those who undersood nothing of the labour of headwork, to have a wonderful easy life of it."
- "In these fields of Mr. Tulkinghorn's inhabiting, where the shepherds play on Chancery pipes that have no stop, and keep their sheep in the fold by hook and by crook until they have shorn them exceeding close, every noise is merged, this moonlight night, into a distant ringing hum, as if the city were a vast glass, vibrating."
- "He had destroyed his talent by not using it, by betrayals of himself and what he believed in, by drinking so much that he blunted the edge of his perceptions, by laziness, by sloth, and by snobbery, by pride and by prejudice, by hook and by crook."
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /baɪ ˈhʊk‿n̩ baɪ ˈkɹʊk/
- British English: /baɪ ˈhʊk‿n̩ baɪ ˈkɹʊk/