[VyseofArcadia]

"Crack engineer" means an engineer who is smart and capable. "Cracked engineer" means an engineer who is insane.

[n_jd]

It's just how the kids and the terminally online are saying it these days

[cthalupa]

Not even particularly new. I remember seeing it used talking about Counter-Strike pros in the early 2000s

[brcmthrowaway]

Cracked founders!

[echelon]

> (slang) Extremely good at something (usually a video game).

>> 20 kills? Dude, you're cracked.

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/cracked

[VyseofArcadia]

Except for the very online, I think meaning 5

> (slang) Crazy; crackpot.

is more common in every day use than meaning 4

>(slang) Extremely good at something (usually a video game).

Neither the Merriam-Webster dictionary nor the Cambridge dictionary[0] list meaning 4, further hinting that it is a use that is mostly occurring in niche online communities. Note that I'm not saying meaning 4 is incorrect[1]. There's no such thing. Words is words. Usage is meaning. But I think I am justified in my belief that it is still relatively uncommon.

[0] The OED wanted money to show me their list of meanings.

[1] Although it is almost assuredly a mishearing of "crack".

[echelon]

It's generational. Gen Alpha increasingly use "cracked" to mean talented.

Even "S-tier" has crept into the non-gamer vernacular. My wife and her friends - not gamers - are using it.

TikTok spreads this stuff like wildfire.

https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Cracked

https://www.tiktok.com/discover/what-does-cracked-mean-in-sl...

[sn9]

This is an extremely online place filled with people who game or are gamer-adjacent.

This intended meaning is obvious from context.