crack a bottle

Idioms & Phrases

crack a bottle

Open a bottle so as to drink its contents, as in Let's celebrate by cracking a bottle of champagne! This seemingly modern colloquialism was first recorded in H. Kelly's School for Wives (1773): "When shall we crack a bottle together?"

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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