Word Confusion: Crunches versus Crutches

Plural for the noun: crunches
Gerund: crunching

Third person present verb: crunches
Past tense or past participle: crunched
Present participle: crunching

Plural for the noun: crutches
Gerund: crutching

Third person present verb: crutches
Past tense or past participle: crutched
Present participle: crutching

[Informal; the crunch] A crucial point or situation, typically one at which a decision with important consequences must be made

• A severe shortage of money or credit

A physical exercise designed to strengthen the abdominal muscles

• A sit-up

Verb, intransitive:
To nake a crunching sound, especially when walking or driving over gravel or an icy surface

To chew noisily with a crackling sound

Verb, transitive:
To crush (a hard or brittle foodstuff) with the teeth, making a loud but muffled grinding sound

• To strike, crush, grind, or tread noisily

[Slang] To process large amounts of information or perform operations of great complexity, especially by computer

• [In singular] A thing used for support or reassurance, often excessively

[Archaic] The crotch of the body, a garment, or an animal

A forked support or part

A forked leg rest on a sidesaddle

[Nautical] A forked support for a boom or spar when not in use

A forked support for an oar on the sides or stern of a rowboat

A horizontal knee reinforcing the stern frames of a wooden vessel

Verb, intransitive:
To move using a crutch or crutches

Verb, transitive:
To support or sustain (a person or thing) as with a crutch

[Australia and New Zealand slang; Agriculture] To clip (wool) from the hindquarters of a sheep

When it comes to the crunch, you chicken out.

The Fed would do what it could to ease America’s credit crunch.

All right, now do 100 crunches.

Verb, intransitive:
Footsteps began to crunch across the frozen rock.

The snow crunched as we walked.

That crunching on celery! Oy, it’s so noisy.

Verb, transitive:
She paused to crunch a ginger snap.

Two cab drivers had just crunched fenders.

Computers crunch data from real-world observations.

I’ll have to be on crutches for six months!

They use the Internet as a crutch for their loneliness.

“They refuse to take any pills. They don’t want to use drugs as a crutch.” – Maya Pines

The water was up to my crutch.

The overalls were reinforced with leather where the crutch took the saddle’s chafing.

“Why, we began it on some crutches that came in a missionary barrel” (Porter, ch 5).

This saddle had an upper crutch that the rider wrapped their thigh around to remain secure in the saddle through any paces faster than a walk (Side, ch 5).

“A tight fit ensures the crutch stays up by itself . . . [and] . . . spreads the load over a larger area” (Jaspers).

“The boom crutch holds up the boom when the sails are furled and when hoisting the sail, in order to keep the boom in its proper position” (Rigging).

“Galvanized wrought iron crutches should be used and should be attached to the lifeboat by means of a lanyard or a chain that is secured to the neck of each crutch” (Admin).

Verb, intransitive:
It was rather depressing to see him crutch along.

After his lower leg was amputated, he had to crutch.

When you crutch, you support your injured leg with the crutches and step past with your stronger leg.

Verb, transitive:
He’s crutching on drugs and alcohol to get through this.

She crutches video games to avoid her lousy homelife.

So, you want to find an easier way to crutch sheep?