hook or crook

== English == === Etymology === From earlier by howke or crooke, by hoke ne by croke, etc., from Middle English wiþ hok or crok, wiþ hook or wiþ crok; further origin unknown. One suggestion is that the term is derived from the common of estovers, an ancient right in English law for tenants of land to gather dead wood on common land using blunt tools such as hooks and shepherd’s crooks. === Pronunciation === (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /baɪ ˈhʊk‿ə baɪ ˈkɹʊk/ (General American) IPA(key): /baɪ ˈhʊk‿əɹ baɪ ˈkɹʊk/ Rhymes: -ʊk === Prepositional phrase === by hook or by crook (idiomatic) By any means possible; one way or another. [from 14th c.] Synonyms: at all costs, by any means, by fair means or foul, no matter what, whatever it takes, (obsolete) with hook or crook ==== Alternative forms ==== by hook and by crook ==== Translations ==== ==== See also ==== stop at nothing === References === === Further reading === by hook or by crook on Wikipedia.Wikipedia