2. Noun. (US slang humorous or derisive) Absolute silence; no communication. Derived from the cinematic metaphor of chirping crickets at night, signaling (otherwise) complete quiet. May be used alone or in metaphorically descriptive phrases. ¹
¹ Source: wiktionary.com
Definition of Crickets
1. cricket [v] - See also: cricket
Lexicographical Neighbors of Crickets
Literary usage of Crickets
Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:
1. The Insect Book: A Popular Account of the Bees, Wasps, Ants, Grasshoppers by Leland Ossian Howard (1905)
"These insects, commonly known as crickets, have long antennae, longer than the
... These are the true crickets, typified by the common field cricket; Fig. ..."
2. The Knickerbocker: Or, New-York Monthly Magazine by Charles Fenno Hoffman, Timothy Flint, Lewis Gaylord Clark, Kinahan Cornwallis, John Holmes Agnew (1833)
"K. THE SONG THE crickets SING. BY KISS It. F. GOULD. Where all in sound and sight
Declares that nature does not know I cannot to the city go, ..."
3. The American Naturalist by American Society of Naturalists, Essex Institute (1898)
"In a few minutes it began to chirp nearly twice as rapidly as the. out-of-door
crickets. Its rate very nearly conformed to the observed rate maintained ..."
4. An Introduction to Entomology by John Henry Comstock, Anna Botsford Comstock (1888)
"The Tree-crickets,—Our common Tree-crickets belong to the genus ... eggs usually
dies, it often happens that these crickets materially injure the plants. ..."
5. Observations on Popular Antiquities Chiefly Illustrating the Origin of Our by John Brand, Henry Ellis (1900)
"crickets AND FLIES. In Pliny's Natural History the cricket is mentioned as being
highly esteemed by the ancient magicians; and there can be little doubt ..."
Other Resources:
Afrikaans