crank-like

Updated: August 29, 2026

Nevertheless I made out enough to convince me that he was no mere crank playing at discoveries. In spite of his crank-like appearance there was a force about him that made that impossible. Whatever it was, it was a thing with mechanical possibilities. He told me of a work-shed he had, and of three assistants originally jobbing carpenters whom he had trained.

H. G. (Herbert George) Wells - The First Men in the Moon