Definition of "crack-up" [crack-up]

• A mental or physical breakdown (noun)

WordNet. Princeton University. 2010.

• "Like the sight of relief workers pouring into devastated areas, nothing so heartens reporters chronicling the gut-wrenching story of a Hollywood celebrity crack-up as the sight of e-mails streaming in to offer unsolicited assistance in the form of easy quotes from academics, lawyers, and other aspiring talking heads."
• "This is the Virginia crack-up happening in slow motion."
• "Perhaps Mr. Obama wants a crack-up to portray Republicans as extreme."