What it means
In Australia and New Zealand, if you're crook, you're off your game in some rough little way. Could be sick, hungover, sore, dizzy, or just generally feeling rotten. It also works for things that aren't right, like a crook knee, a crook gut, or a crook engine. Short word, big range, does the job without any drama.
Usage examples
"Can’t come in, boss, I’m crook as a dog and the ute’s crook too. Yeah nah, I’ll stay home and not spread it round."
"Came back from the surf at Bondi feeling proper crook, food poisoning from the dodgy fish and chips at the Cronulla joint last night, my flatmate took one look and called in sick for me at the office."
"The old Ford ute on the property near Dubbo has been crook for two weeks, the alternator is gone, the radiator leaks, and my dad is still driving it to feed the dogs every morning at six sharp."
"Nah, I'm not coming out tonight, mate, I'm feeling crook after that servo pie and two hours' sleep."
"My shoulder's still crook from footy, and now the bloody lawnmower's crook too. Whole day's gone sideways."
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Where it comes from
Crook goes back to older English where it meant bent or hooked in shape. From there it spread into the idea of something wrong, damaged, or not straight in a broader sense. In Australian and New Zealand slang, that widened nicely into unwell, injured, or faulty.
Other ways to say it
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