Glossaries of the dialects of Yorkshire (1878), Cheshire (1886), and Northumberland (1892) equate crack variously with 'conversation', 'gossip', and 'talk'.

A glossary of Lancashire terms and phrases published in 1869 lists crack as meaning 'chat', as does a book on the local culture of Edinburgh published in the same year. 'Crack' is prominent in Cumbrian dialect and everyday Cumbrian usage (including the name of an online local newspaper), with the meaning 'gossip'. The Scottish song 'The Wark o The Weavers', which dates back to the early part of the 19th century, published by David Shaw, who died in 1856, has the opening line 'We're a' met thegither here tae sit an tae crack, Wi oor glesses in oor hands.' A collection of folk songs from Cumberland published in 1865 refers to villagers 'enjoying their crack'. The term is recorded in Scotland with this sense as far back as the 16th century, with both Robert Fergusson and Robert Burns employing it in the 1770s and 1780s. A book on the speech of Northern England published in 1825 equates crack with 'chat, conversation, news'. The context involving 'news' and 'gossip' originated in Northern English and Scots. A sense of crack found in Northern England and Scotland meaning 'conversation' or 'news' produces expressions such as 'What's the crack?', meaning 'how are you?' or 'have you any news?', similar to 'what's up?', 'how's it going?', or 'what's the word?' in other regions. The word crack is derived from the Middle English crak, meaning 'loud conversation, bragging talk'. Under either spelling, the term has attracted popularity and significance in Ireland. The word has an unusual history the Scots and English crack was borrowed into Irish as craic in the mid-20th century and the Irish spelling was then reborrowed into English.

It is often used with the definite article – the craic – as in the expression 'What's the craic?' (meaning 'How are you?' or 'What's happening?'). Look up craic in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.Ĭraic ( / k r æ k/ KRAK) or crack is a term for news, gossip, fun, entertainment, and enjoyable conversation, particularly prominent in Ireland.

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