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crabstick

American  
[krab-stik] / ˈkræbˌstɪk /

noun

  1. a stick, cane, or club made of wood, especially of the crab tree.

  2. an ill-tempered, grouchy person; crosspatch.

crabstick British  
/ ˈkræbˌstɪk /

noun

  1. a stick, cane, or cudgel made of crab-apple wood

  2. informal a bad-tempered person

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of crabstick

First recorded in 1695–1705; crab 2 + stick 1

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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