hard-shell crab

American  

noun

1. a crab, especially an edible crab, that has not recently molted and has a hard shell.

---

hard-shell crab British  

noun

1. a crab, esp of the edible species Cancer pagurus, that has not recently moulted and therefore has a hard shell Compare soft-shell crab

---

Etymology

Origin of hard-shell crab

First recorded in 1900–05

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

hard-shell crab

He was a florid, handsome old Scotchman, orthodox in religion, shrewd in business, correct in conduct, but with no more sentiment than a hard-shell crab, and obstinate as the devil.

From The Valley of Vision : a Book of Romance an Some Half Told Tales by Van Dyke, Henry