crack a book

Not to me Mick, not at all

Not mine. What dictionary, Mick

http://onelook.com/?w=crack&ls=a

Really? Just natural then? Oh, I'm relieved to hear that.

The dictionary I mentioned is, well, actually it's not mine.
This is the one I saw,

http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/crack+a+book

A sentence attached to it is :
I've never cracked a book and still passed the course.

And I figured : Ah, that idiom surely is used negatively.

Okay Mick but let's hear from some of the other "experts" hereabout

Aha Mick my apologies, I now understand where that "neg" comes from so maybe they're right after all

My understanding of the phrase "crack a book" means breaking the spine. A well read book might have many cracks in the spine. If someone hasn't "cracked a book" they usually mean they have never opened it.

You probably wouldn't say "Let's crack a book. We've got an exam coming soon." but instead say "We've got an exam soon and we haven't cracked a book."

Indeed, well put Boom

Thank you. Now I got it.
Once again, I realize I need to try to mimic, but create,
when it comes to learning foreign languages.
Thanks again.

Oh, no. What I wrote wasn't just clear enough. You never have to say sorry. Rather, I'm so grateful to have someone nice and trustworthy like you around me. I just appreicate it.

I have always understood "crack a book" to mean merely to open it, mainly for the purpose of study, with no suggestion of damage to the spine. The phrase is informal, rather old-fashioned and mainly American. I am supported by a number of dictionaries:

The Free Dictionary:

crack a book
Fig. to open a book to study. (Usually used with a negative.) I never cracked a book and still passed the course. Sally didn't crack a book all semester.

I haven't seen her crack a book and the French test is tomorrow.

Oxford Dictionaries:

crack a book
Definition of crack a book in English:
North American informal

Open a book and read it; study:
they can run with a football or dunk a basketball with little concern whether they ever crack a book

More example sentences

Try cracking a book occasionally or move to a country where they make special accommodation for ignorant protesters such as yourself.

Relax in a hammock, crack a book under a tree, drink iced tea on the front porch.

There are cheat codes to the universe, as anyone who's cracked a book on differential calculus can tell you.

Macmillan Dictionary (American):

crack a book/the books
informal
to read or study

You'd better start cracking the books if you want to pass the test.

Thanks Mick, it's not everyday….