Meaning of Crickets | Babel Free

Definitions

Used alone or in metaphorically descriptive phrases: absolute silence where meaningful sound is expected; lack of response; no communication.

Canada, US, figuratively, humorous, often, singular, slang

Equivalents

Examples

“to hear crickets”

“Since then, I've received no response. Not a word. Just… crickets.”

“We asked for an explanation, but all we got was crickets.”

“"We have one exclusive one block from Bee on Fifth and Seventy-third. Prewar. White-glove. Top-notch." His Queen's English posh London accent made it sound extra-fabulous. […] / "Do you maybe have any listings that are less? Like ... four million less?" I asked, semi-blushing. / "Four million or less? Sure!" / "No, no, no," I said. "Not four million or less. Four million less than five point three million, i.e., something in the one-to-one-and-a-half range." / "Oh." / Crickets.”

“Maria Chapelle-Nadal, a Democratic state senator, said she feared that the commission's findings would be announced with great fanfare, "but then we're just going to hear crickets, crickets, crickets."”

“Stopping a group of teenage boys at a museum [in Bangladesh] devoted to the 1971 war, I asked them which American leaders had played an important role in the conflict. Henry A. Kissinger? They looked at me with blank faces. Richard M. Nixon? Crickets.”

CEFR level