lady crab

noun

1. a brightly speckled swimming crab, Ovalipes ocellatus, of sandy beaches along the Atlantic coast of the United States.

Word History and Origins

Origin of lady crab¹

First recorded in 1880–85

Example Sentences

He was taking her to the thick eelgrass, where she would shed for the last time and become a grown-up lady crab—a sook.

From Literature

In maturer life the lady crab, it seems, is content with one new dress each year; yet is not the romance of life over.

From Project Gutenberg