CRACKER, something which "cracks" (Ger. Kracken) ; a firework which explodes with several reports and jumps at each explosion (see FIREWORKS) ; a roll of coloured and orna mented paper containing sweets, etc., together with a strip of card with a fulminant which explodes on being pulled. In Amer ica, the general name for a biscuit. In the southern states of America "cracker" is a term of contempt for the "poor" or "mean whites" of Georgia and Florida ; the term dates back to the Revolution, and is supposed to be derived from the "cracked corn" which formed the staple food of the class to whom the term refers.