not all (someone or something) is cracked up to be

not all (someone or something) is cracked up to be

Not as good, enjoyable, impressive, or worthwhile as someone or something is reputed or said to be. Honestly, the movie isn't all it's cracked up to be. Maybe I'm just not the right audience for it. She's supposed to be some expert litigator who can quash any legal case before it reaches trial. So far, though, she hasn't been all she's cracked up to be.See also: all, cracked, not, up

not all it's cracked up to be

Not as good, enjoyable, impressive, or worthwhile as it is reputed or said to be. Honestly, the movie isn't all it's cracked up to be. Maybe I'm just not the right audience for it. If you ask me, amusement parks just aren't all they're cracked up to be.See also: all, cracked, not, up

not all something is cracked up to be

 and not what something is cracked up to beFig. not as good as something is said to be. (Not always in the negative.) This isn't a very good pen. It's not all it's cracked up to be. Is this one all it's cracked up to be?See also: all, cracked, not, up

not all it's cracked up to be

It is disappointing, it does not live up to its reputation, as in The restaurant wasn't all it's cracked up to be. This term uses crack up in the sense of "to praise," which survives only in this expression. [Colloquial; early 1800s] See also: all, cracked, not, up

not all it's cracked up to be

COMMON If something is not all it's cracked up to be, it is not as good as people often say it is. Alexander is finding that life as a manager is not all it's cracked up to be. Holidays are not always all they're cracked up to be. Note: Cracked up to be is also used in other structures and expressions with a similar meaning. But are these islands in the sun everything they are cracked up to be? It's one of those places you hear so much about that you wonder if it really is as good as it's cracked up to be.See also: all, cracked, not, up

not all it's cracked up to be

Not as outstanding as its reputation; disappointing. This term uses the verb to crack up in an older meaning rarely heard today, that is, “to praise.” The cliché dates from the nineteenth century. Wrote John A. Clark, “One of the lodgers . . . remarked that the Galt House was not after all just what it was cracked up to be” (Gleanings by the Way, 1837).See also: all, cracked, not, up