crib

(krĭb)
n.

1. A bed with high sides for a young child or baby.
2. 1. A small building, usually with slatted sides, for storing corn.
   2. A rack or trough for fodder; a manger.
   3. A stall for cattle.
3. A small crude cottage or room.
4. Slang. One's home.
5. A framework to support or strengthen a mine or shaft.
6. A wicker basket.
7. 1. A petty theft.
   2. Plagiarism.
   3. See pony (sense 4).
8. Games. A set of cards made up from discards by each player in cribbage, used by the dealer.

v., cribbed, crib·bing, cribs.

v.tr.

1. To confine in or as if in a crib.
2. To furnish with a crib.
3. 1. To plagiarize (an idea or answer, for example).
   2. To steal.

v.intr.
To plagiarize; cheat.

[Middle English, manger, from Old English cribb.]

cribber crib'ber n.

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verb

To reproduce (the artistic work of another, for example) illicitly: pirate, plagiarize. See give/take/reciprocity, words.

n. an underground ditch or trenchlike structure designed for the discharge of low- and intermediate-level liquid nuclear wastes directly into the ground. A crib is about 20 feet deep and up to 1, 400 feet long, lined with rock and soil.

See the Introduction, Abbreviations and Pronunciation for further details.

1. A lining of a shaft, such as a framework of timbers.
2. A framework constructed of squared timbers, steel, or concrete members; used as a retaining wall or to provide support for construction above.
3. A partial enclosure for storing hay, corn, or the like; also see corncrib.

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A crib is a section of an encoded or enciphered message that can easily be rendered into plain text, thus providing a tool whereby a skilled cryptanalyst can crack the entire code or message. A famous example of a "crib" from outside the world of espionage is the Rosetta Stone, used to translate Egyptian hieroglyphics.

Essentially a thank-you note from a group of priests to a magnanimous king, the stone was addressed to the second-century B.C. ruler Ptolemy V, who, like all the Ptolemies, spoke Greek rather than Egyptian. Therefore, the priests sent the note in Greek, as well as in hieroglyphics and demotic, a simplified version of hieroglyphic writing. Thus the French archaeologist Jean-François Champollion, who studied the Rosetta Stone in the early nineteenth century, was able to translate the Greek portion, and from this crack the code first of demotic, and then of hieroglyphics.

Any time a force sends out a message whose content is predictable to the enemy, this offers an opportunity for a resourceful cryptanalyst to find a crib. Thus, when the German high command in World War II sent greetings to Adolf Hitler every April 20—the Fuhrer's birthday—it was fairly easy for Allied cryptanalysts to guess the gist of the message. This would have been so no matter how carefully it had been enciphered or encoded, but the Germans sometimes made things even easier by sending the same message in plain text.

Further Reading

Books

Kahn, David. Kahn on Codes: Secrets of the New Cryptology. New York: Macmillan, 1983.

Konheim, Alan G. Cryptography: A Primer. New York: Wiley, 1981.

Lubbe, J. C. A. van der. Basic Methods of Cryptography. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1998.

Newton, David E. Encyclopedia of Cryptology. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 1997.

noun
noun, mainly US

A disreputable bar or brothel. Also crib-house, -joint. c.(1857 —) .
P. Gammond et al. Forced into the dives and crib-joints of the red-light district of New Orleans (1958).

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A rack or manger in a stable.

• c.-biting — a neurosis or acquired habit in stabled horses characterized by stereotypic behavior. The horse grasps a solid object with its incisor teeth, arches the neck, pulls upwards and backwards and swallows air. The consequences are eroded teeth, occasionally gastric distention and severe weight loss. Called also wind-sucking, cribbing.

  Incisor teeth of a crib biter. By permission from Knottenbelt DC, Pascoe RR, Diseases and Disorders of the Horse, Saunders, 2003

• c.-biting operation — partial myectomy of the sternohyoideus muscle prevents ventral flexion of the head; not commonly performed. An alternative procedure involves neurectomy of the spinal accessory nerve.

For a list of words related to crib, see:

• Building and Machine Parts - crib: framework of strips or planks, open at top
• Cases, Boxes, and Bags - crib: framework enclosure, esp. for animal or baby
• Types of Buildings - crib: small, narrow dwelling; framework stall
• Beds - crib: infant’s bed, usu. having slatted sides
• Cases, Cupboards, and Chests - crib: rack or framework storage enclosure
• Infancy - crib: baby’s small bed with high sides
• Curricula, Studies, Learning, and Tests - crib: (vb) Informal. plagiarize, copy, or cheat
• Fraud, Treachery, and Deception - crib: (vb) Informal. plagiarize, steal, or cheat on examination by use of concealed notes

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See words rhyming with "cribber."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Crib.

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Dansk (Danish)
n. - barneseng, julekrybbe, hytte, kortbunke, tømmerkiste, bordel, let måltid, plagiat
v. tr. - plagiere, indespærre, hugge
v. intr. - bruge snydeoversættelse, knurre, brokke sig

idioms:

• crib death    vuggedød

Nederlands (Dutch)
ledikantje, krib, kerststal, plagiaat, spiekvertaling, spiekbriefje, hut, schachtbekleding (mijn), balken voor fundering, (goedkoop) bordeel, lichte maaltijd, plagiëren, opsluiten in kleine ruimte, jatten, mopperen, afkijken

Français (French)
n. - (GB) crèche (de la Nativité), (Agric) râtelier, emprunt, (École, Univ) antisèche, corrigé de thèmes, etc employés subrepticement, (abrév) jeu de cartes pour deux personnes
v. tr. - copier
v. intr. - (gén) faire des emprunts, copier sur

idioms:

• crib death    mort du nourrisson

Deutsch (German)
v. - abschreiben
n. - Kinderbett, Krippe

idioms:

• crib death    plötzlicher Kindstod

Ελληνική (Greek)
v. - διαπράττω λογοκλοπή, εγκλείω, μαντρώνω, χρησιμοποιώ τυφλοσούρτη, αντιγράφω με σκονάκι, κλέβω, σουφρώνω
n. - φάτνη, παχνί, λίκνο, (μωρουδιακή) κούνια, σχολική μετάφραση (κν. τυφλοσούρτης), σκονάκι (για αντιγραφή σε εξετάσεις), λογοκλοπή/-ία

idioms:

• crib death    θάνατος ανεπιτήρητου βρέφους

Italiano (Italian)
copiare, culla, greppia, bigino

idioms:

• crib death    morte in culla

Português (Portuguese)
v. - plagiar, furtar, colar (colégio)
n. - presépio (m), berço (m)

idioms:

• crib death    síndrome (f) da morte no berço

Русский (Russian)
списывать, колыбель, ясли

idioms:

• crib death    внезапная смерть младенца

Español (Spanish)
n. - cuna, pesebre, chuleta, machete
v. tr. - copiar, plagiar
v. intr. - usar chuletas, copiarse, plagiarse

idioms:

• crib death    muerte súbita infantil

Svenska (Swedish)
v. - stänga in, knycka (vard.), planka (vard.), skriva av (vard.), fuska (vard.)
n. - krubba, bås, julkrubba, babykorg, vagga, babysäng (am.), binge (am.), koja, plagiat (vard.), lathund (sl.)

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
小儿床, 贮藏箱, 粮仓, 秣槽, 拘禁, 关入栅栏, 抄袭

idioms:

• crib death    婴儿猝死

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 小兒床, 貯藏箱, 糧倉, 秣槽
v. tr. - 拘禁, 關入柵欄
v. intr. - 抄襲

idioms:

• crib death    嬰兒猝死

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 구유, 도용, 주해서
v. tr. - ~에 ~을 갖추다, 가두다, 좀도둑질하다
v. intr. - 좀도둑질하다, 표절하다, 주해서를 쓰다

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 幼児用寝台, 飼料棚, 盗用, 貯蔵箱, とらの巻, ベビーベッド
v. - 閉じ込める, 盗用する, カンニングする, とらの巻を使う

idioms:

• crib death    寝台死

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(فعل) نقل الأجوبه من غيره, انتحل, سرق (الاسم) سرير للطفل, معلف, ترجمه, سرقه أدبيه‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮מיטת-תינוק, תמונת ישו התינוק, תיבה, איבוס, מחסן, חדרון, העתקה, גניבה, תרגום, בית קטן, גנבה ספרותית, משחק קלפים, מסגרת פיר של מכרה, קורות כבדות המשמשות כיסודות בקרקע רכה, ארוחה קלה, בית-בושת (מדוברת), סל נצרים‬
v. tr. - ‮העתיק, גנב, כלא, סגר, סגר במקום צר‬
v. intr. - ‮רטן (מדוברת), נעזר בהעתקה‬

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