crab louse

noun

1. louse1

crab louse

noun

1. a parasitic louse, Pthirus (or Phthirus ) pubis, that infests the pubic region in man

Word History and Origins

Origin of crab louse¹

First recorded in 1540–50

Example Sentences

Print ads included a silhouette of a chow, with the promise that One-Spot killed lice, ants, fleas, aphids, bedbugs, crab lice, potato bugs, cabbage worms and Mexican bean beetles.

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Williams once called crab lice his “occupational disease.”

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The nameless character telling us his story is a man with some years on him and various somatic complaints: “crab lice,” eczema, a bit of unsightly damage to his skull.

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Thus the entries for Jan. 18 include George Washington, in 1790, suffering with sore gums and, in 1943, Tennessee Williams rattled by crab lice.

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Her expression, commonly used here to refer to something or someone annoying, roughly translates as “What crab lice.”

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