noun phrase🎓 English idiom

crash course

a short intensive learning experience

What it means

A crash course is a fast, condensed program of study or training designed to teach the essentials of a subject in a very short time. It's used about language learning, new job skills, parenting, and any situation where someone has to come up to speed quickly without a long buildup.

Examples

  • I took a crash course in Italian before the trip to Rome.
  • Becoming a parent is a crash course in patience.
  • The new hire got a crash course in our internal tools on day one.
  • He gave me a quick crash course on how the accounting software works.

Where it comes from

An American English term from the 1930s, where 'crash' carried the sense of rapid, urgent, all-at-once action (as in 'crash program' or 'crash diet'). The phrase quickly spread to education and training contexts.

Related idioms

#blank slate#crunch time#second wind#turning point

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