“Get crackin’” or “Get cracking” (removing shells from eggs, nuts)

“Get cracking” (or “get crackin’”) means to get started (or “get to work”). The “cracking” probably comes from the crack of the whip, as applied to animals or slaves. “Get cracking” was popularly used in the Royal Air Force during World War II.
 
“Get cracking” also refers to cracking the shells of eggs or nuts. An Easter food story in the Los Angeles (CA) Times in April 1962 was titled, “Eggs Found! Time to Get Cracking.” A Christmas food story in This Week magazine in December 1963 was titled, “Holiday Shell Game: Again the season for nuts—everybody get cracking!”
 
“Get crackin’” pistachio nuts advertisements were trademarked and began in 2009.
 
   
(Oxford English Dictionary)
Colloq. phr. to get cracking: to get started; to ‘get a move on’. Cf. get v. 31a. Also with noun or pronoun (or other object) interposed between get and cracking.
1937   E. Partridge Dict. Slang 324/1   Get cracking, to begin work.
1938   ‘N. Shute’ Ruined City vi. 121   If I could get this yard cracking again I’d be a very happy man.
1943   H. Bolitho Combat Report 73   Dickie yawned and said, ‘Well, I must get cracking.’
1947   ‘N. Shute’ Chequer Board 190,  I got the solicitor cracking on it before I left England.
1949   S. Gibbons Matchmaker xviii. 221   Come on, let’s get cracking, we’re late now.
     
19 April 1962, Los Angeles (CA) Times, “AFTER THE HUNT: Eggs Found! Time to Get Cracking,” sec. 6, pg. 24, col. 1.
   
15 December 1963, The Sun (Baltimore, MD), “How America Eats” by Clementine Paddleford, This Week magazine, pg. 15, col. 2:
Holiday Shell Game
Again the season for nuts—everybody get cracking!
   
OCLC WorldCat record
Get cracking with eggs : a teaching guide.
Publisher: [Abbotsford, B.C.] : B.C. Egg Marketing Board with assistance of the Prince Edward Island Department of Agriculture and Forestry, [197-]
Edition/Format:   Kit : Juvenile audience : State or province government publication   Visual material : English
Database: WorldCat
Summary:
Designed to stimulate student interest in eggs and egg cookery.
 
OCLC WorldCat record
Get cracking with Texas pecans : featuring pecan recipes from appetizers to desserts.
Author: Texas. Department of Agriculture.
Publisher: [Austin, Tex.] : [Texas Dept. of Agriculture], [1980]
Edition/Format:   Print book : State or province government publication : English
 
OCLC WorldCat record
Get cracking with eggs : a pre-school eggucation and activity booklet
Author: Arkansas Livestock and Poultry Commission.; Arkansas Poultry Federation.; Arkansas Egg Council.
Publisher: Little Rock, Ark. : Arkansas Poultry Foundation : Arkansas Livestock and Poultry Commission [distributor], [1988]
Edition/Format:   Print book : Juvenile audience : State or province government publication : English
 
OCLC WorldCat record
Get cracking!
Author: Canadian Egg Marketing Agency.
Publisher: Montreal, Quebec : Brimar Publishing, ©1999.
Edition/Format:   Print book : English
 
OCLC WorldCat record
Get cracking : a cook’s guide to eggs
Author: Alex Barker
Publisher: London : Southwater, 2001.
Edition/Format:   Print book : English
     
Twitter
Wonderful Pistachios
‏@getcrackin
Check out Wonderful Pistachios @ http://www.wonderfulpistachios.com. Any ideas on how to Get Crackin’ & make our site more engaging? #getcrackin
5:11 PM - 20 Jul 2009
 
Stack Exchange—English Language & Usage
Where does the phrase “get crackin’” come from?
(...) 
Conclusion
No reference work has convincingly tracked “get cracking” to its original lair. The term does seem to be of UK English origin, but whether it originated in the RAF in 1925, or in Rhodesia in the late 1890s, or in some bucolic setting to the sound of bullwhips bring cattle into order for transportation or migration remains unclear.
answered Aug 13 ‘15 at 9:24
Sven Yargs
(...)
I imagine, but have no proof, that the phrase is related to whip cracking, since whips were used to drive work forward, whether it be farm animals or slaves. – Matt E. Эллен♦ May 7 ‘11 at 15:14
   
@Matt: Cassell’s agrees with you. – Callithumpian May 7 ‘11 at 19:27
 
Mashable
Are They Nuts? Why Pistachio Marketers Bet Big on Internet Memes
BY TODD WASSERMAN
NOV 29, 2011
(...)
That’s what Dominic Engels, the then-head marketer for Paramount Farms, did in 2009. Since that time, the brand has been running one of the weirdest campaigns in consumer packaged goods. The cast of characters promoting the brand has run the gamut from Bristol Palin baby-daddy Levi Johnston to the Winklevoss Twins to disgraced former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich to the Honey Badger. The “Get Crackin’” campaign has done more than just get attention, though. From September 2010 to this October, sales for Wonderful Pistachios rose 134% by volume, according to SymphonyIRI. That came after similar triple-digit growth the year before.
 
(Trademark)
Word Mark GET CRACKIN’
Goods and Services IC 029. US 046. G & S: Processed nuts. FIRST USE: 20090921. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 20090921
Standard Characters Claimed
Mark Drawing Code (4) STANDARD CHARACTER MARK
Trademark Search Facility Classification Code NOTATION-SYMBOLS Notation Symbols such as Non-Latin characters,punctuation and mathematical signs,zodiac signs,prescription marks
Serial Number 77761848
Filing Date June 17, 2009
Current Basis 1A
Original Filing Basis 1B
Published for Opposition September 22, 2009
Registration Number 3842741
Registration Date August 31, 2010
Owner (REGISTRANT) Paramount Farms, Inc. CORPORATION DELAWARE 11444 W. Olympic Blvd., 10th Floor Los Angeles CALIFORNIA 90064
(LAST LISTED OWNER) THE WONDERFUL COMPANY LLC LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY DELAWARE 11444 WEST OLYMPIC BLVD., 10TH FLOOR LOS ANGELES CALIFORNIA 90064
Assignment Recorded ASSIGNMENT RECORDED
Type of Mark TRADEMARK
Register PRINCIPAL
Affidavit Text SECT 15. SECT 8 (6-YR).
Live/Dead Indicator LIVE
   
(Trademark)
Word Mark GET CRACKING
Goods and Services (ABANDONED) IC 035. US 100 101 102. G & S: Dissemination of information concerning eggs to members of the public, promotion of the sale of eggs, the preparation and provision of promotional materials, television programs, audio-visual presentations and displays in respect of eggs
Standard Characters Claimed
Mark Drawing Code (4) STANDARD CHARACTER MARK
Serial Number 85390437
Filing Date August 5, 2011
Current Basis 44E
Original Filing Basis 44E
Owner (APPLICANT) Canadian Egg Marketing Agency CORPORATION CANADA 21 Florence Street OTTAWA, K2P 0W6 CANADA
Attorney of Record Ryan M. Kaiser
Type of Mark SERVICE MARK
Register PRINCIPAL
Live/Dead Indicator DEAD
Abandonment Date June 11, 2012