"By hook or by crook" is an English phrase meaning "by any means necessary", suggesting that any means possible should be taken to accomplish a goal. The phrase was first recorded in the Middle English Controversial Tracts of John Wyclif in 1380.

Who said by hook or by crook?

The received wisdom is that the common phrase originated from a vow made by Oliver Cromwell in the 17th century to take the city of Waterford in Ireland either by Hook (on the eastern side of the Waterford Estuary) or by Crooke (to the west).

How do you use hook or crook in a sentence?

By hook or by crook we will supply their places and do their work. Those who want office development or retail areas will try, by hook or by crook, to get them. They want their own way by hook or by crook. Surely this is a mistake which by hook or by crook—if those are not unfortunate words—should somehow be corrected.