# crickets

Pronunciation: say "KRIK-its" /ˈkɹɪk.ɪts/

## Noun

1. Plural of cricket. — plural of cricket.
   - Simple: Plural of cricket. Use it when you talk about more than one of the chirping insects.
   - _Crickets chirped in the field long after the sun had gone down._
   - _The pet store sells live crickets as food for lizards and frogs._
2. Complete silence where a meaningful response is expected; no reply or communication at all, said on its own or in phrases like hear crickets. *(slang, Canada, US)*
   - Simple: Total silence when you expect people to answer or react, so nobody says anything back.
   - _The senator invited questions from reporters and was met with crickets._
   - _We launched the app with a big ad campaign, and so far it's been crickets._

## Interjection

3. Used as a mild exclamation to show that the speaker is slightly annoyed or surprised.
   - Simple: A word you say when you are a little annoyed or surprised.
   - _Oh, crickets, the printer jammed again just as I was leaving._
   - _Crickets! I didn't expect to see you here so early._

## Origin

The sense of silence comes from the cinematic metaphor of crickets chirping at night, a sign that everything is otherwise completely quiet.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/crickets (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).