crook

Seemingly, all the children of the Valley are being shuttled by their parents toward Stanford, where they will matriculate by hook or by crook.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 12, 2026

And though the high gloss may be an act given Gaston’s actual vocation, Marshall plays the part as if the crook himself believes the masquerade.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 10, 2026

It was late, and the store was out of disposable bags, so I tucked some of the loot into my dance bag and cradled the rest in the crook of my arm.

From Salon ● Jan. 1, 2026

Hemlock is a small town located in the crook of the Michigan mitten, between the thumb and the fingers.

From Barron's ● Nov. 7, 2025

He climbed up into the crook of it, and then he stood there and looked down at me.

From "Louisiana's Way Home" by Kate DiCamillo

In the final entry on her blog, posted barely half an hour before she was killed, Caruana Galizia wrote: "There are crooks everywhere you look now. The situation is desperate".

From Barron's ● Sep. 3, 2026

It says this means the number of "crooks" in the community has grown by 1,000 in just three months.

From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026

“I mean, they need to be able to do that. But they just, you know, they need to pay more attention to the crooks than people trying to make an honest living.”

From Salon ● Jun. 2, 2026

From their ranks, we’ve chosen the 101 L.A.-set movies that best represent this city and its inhabitants: actors, scamps, cops, crooks, singers, strivers, slackers and even cyborgs.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 15, 2026

I hold it awkwardly in the crooks of my elbows.

From "The Queen of Water" by Laura Resau

Obviously such financial freedom was possible—but only if you were a guy who knew how the crooked game was played.

From Slate ● Sep. 20, 2026

He goes on to explain why he isn’t playing, lifting a crooked finger to the camera and saying he is injured.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026

A quick scroll through TikTok reveals numerous accounts, many of them created in the past few weeks, sharing photos and videos of an elusive black-and-white feline wearing the famous, towering, crooked red-and-white striped hat.

From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2026

In 2019, the IRS told Murrin she owed unpaid tax, penalties and interest for income-tax returns the crooked accountant filed from 1993 to 1999.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 25, 2026

She points a crooked finger at Boo and me.

From "The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman" by Gennifer Choldenko

Short as trees go, it has a hunkered-down look, its branches starting low to the ground and crooking and knotting as they rise.

From New York Times ● May 10, 2021

He was having an almost violently good time, it appeared, kissing women on the cheek, crooking his arm around his friends’ necks.

From The New Yorker ● Jun. 24, 2019

A trio of elderly gentlemen, seated outside at a cafe, urge us on, crooking thumbs in the uphill direction.

From Washington Post ● Jan. 10, 2019

So police officers, crooking a single finger, have ordered scores of drivers to the curb for breaking the law and issued them a fine for $130.

From New York Times ● Feb. 3, 2012

She ran to the perambulator and rocked it gently, crooking her thin, twisted, old fingers at John and Barbara until they stopped crying and began to laugh.

From "Mary Poppins" by P. L. Travers