crack the door

crack the door (open)

To open a door slightly. It's so hot in here—can we at least crack the door open?
See also: crack, door
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

crack the door (open)

 and crack the window (open)
to open the door or window a very small amount. I cracked open the door to peek out. Just crack the window a bit to let some air inside.
See also: crack, door
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.
See also:
  • crack the door (open)
  • crack open
  • crack a/the window (open)
  • crack a tube
  • crack a smile
  • crack some suds
  • crack open a bottle
  • crack open a/the bottle
  • dirty crack
  • crack (something) wide open
References in periodicals archive
Once firefighters were able to crack the door open at 8:45 p.m., police poured into the the room, doused Liang with pepper spray, and beat him into submission with telescopic batons.
Anthony recalled the details of that fateful night for Fox Carolina: "I went to crack the door open and they barged, at least two of them, barged through the door and knocked me through the wall." Anthony said his girlfriend fired two shots at Alley while they were in the midst of a life-and-death battle in the living room.
But in 2015, Biado started to crack the door open, especially when he came within a few racks of winning the World 10-ball championship against Taiwan's Ko Pin Yi.
If someone's cousin's husband works there, that can crack the door open a little bit farther for you.
Conservatives' anger was piqued last summer when the denomination voted to crack the door open for gay clergy and include more gender-inclusive language when discussing the Trinity.
Panels doors left open and not tied down will flail around in high wind and can crack the door's ribbing.