crusty

adj

1. Having a crust, especially a thick one.

   “No one was there. But there was a cloth spread upon the table that stood against the wall, and a cover was laid for one, with a crusty brown loaf and a bottle of wine beside the plate”

2. (figuratively, informal)Short-tempered and gruff but, sometimes, with a harmless or benign inner nature.

   “However kindly a friend may otherwise be, he soon turns crusty if asked to lend money.”

   “Then somebody told a story about the Swedish Majesty's last sojourn in Norway. There, at a railway station, Oscar ran against a crusty old farmer who thought himself a lot better than a mere king and kept his hat on.”

   “Visitors to Maine often expect to find such colorful characters at every turn. In fact, Governor Angus King once said that if he could just strategically position a suitable crusty yet benign "Mainah" on the porch of every general store or end of every lobster wharf, giving people asking for directions the standard reply of "You can't get theyah from heyah," tourism revenue would triple.”

3. (informal)Of very low quality; crude visuals or harsh, granular sound.

   “The door opened with a crusty squeak that echoed in the silent room.”

   “The old vinyl record made a crusty crackling sound as the needle hit it.”

   “A crusty sound came from the rusted hinges of the gate.”

noun

1. (British, informal)A tramp or homeless young person with poor cleanliness.
2. (slang)Dried eye mucus.

   “Against the backdrop of muted stripes of color, Julieanne picked at her eyes’ crusties, and then combed her hair with the hand.”

   “Jesus, how could I bear the sight of him—sleep crusties lodged in the corners of his rheumy eyes, a puff of chest hair cresting like meringue over the top of his V-neck sweater, khakis jacked up to his breastbone—when I was used to looking at the singularly lovely Isabella?”

   “I wiped the crusties from my eyes, threw on a sundress, and wandered out into the living room.”

3. (Ireland, UK, informal)A member of an urban subculture with roots in punk and grebo, characterized by antiestablishment attitudes and an unkempt appearance.

   “The Spirals are part of the crossover between the rave scene and the ‘crusty’ subculture—crusties being squat-dwelling anarcho-hippy-punk types named after their matted dreadlocks and post-apocalyptic garb.”

   “The predictable complaints began as soon as Extinction Rebellion launched its fortnight of protest in London, part of an international campaign of civil disobedience in as many as 60 cities worldwide. Politicians have moaned that the police are being too passive, and Boris Johnson, Britain’s prime minister, labelled the protesters – who include a former Metropolitan police detective – “uncooperative crusties”.”

4. (slang)Dried blood or serous fluid buildup following body piercing.

   “Actually, I usually don't see crusties for up to a week after a new pierce, it takes some time before a new pierce is in that stage when it's actively pushing out dead skin cells and other gunk.”

   “If you rotate the ring with the crusties still on it, it'll drag the bastards through the piercing and that hurts like the dickens.”