soft-shell crab

noun

a crab, especially the blue crab, that has recently molted and therefore has a soft, edible shell.

Origin of soft-shell crab

First recorded in 1835–45

Words Nearby soft-shell crab

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use soft-shell crab in a sentence

Pilots ate cream of crab soup and soft-shell crab sandwiches, fresh as could be.
Volunteer pilots fly in the holiday cheer | Christina Tkacik | December 20, 2021 | Washington Post
If you’d rather eat out, stop at Ricky’s Seafood and Produce for a soft-shell crab sandwich or Poseidon’s Pantry for a gourmet sandwich, then go to Island Creamery for ice cream.
On Virginia’s Chincoteague Island — all this and ponies, too | Nevin Martell | September 2, 2021 | Washington Post
Pine nuts, bacon, soft-shell crab—these are the flavors of caterpillars, beetles, and tarantulas, if you can believe it.
Cicadas, Grasshoppers, Locusts, Ants Among the Tastiest Insects | Nina Strochlic | May 14, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
With their meatier body, tarantulas are said to taste like to soft-shell crab or shrimp.
Cicadas, Grasshoppers, Locusts, Ants Among the Tastiest Insects | Nina Strochlic | May 14, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
The soft-shell crab is blanched five minutes, and fried like fish.
Hand-Book of Practical Cookery for Ladies and Professional Cooks | Pierre Blot

The soft shell crab is caught just as the old shell is shed, and is highly esteemed as a delicacy.
Foods and Household Management | Helen Kinne
One-third New York cheese, one-third dessicated soft-shell crab, one-sixth green peppers chopped very fine.
The Cookery Blue Book | Society for Christian Work of the First Unitarian Church, San Francisco, California
When he drew near they found a soft-shell crab clinging fast to the stiff hair of the zebra's head, where it held on by one claw.
The Emerald City of Oz | L. Frank Baum
A dainty succulent soft shell crab, nicely cooked and well browned, tempts the eye of the epicure and makes his mouth water.
Punchinello, Vol. 2, No. 29, October 15, 1870 | Various

British Dictionary definitions for soft-shell crab

soft-shell crab

noun

a crab, esp of the edible species Cancer pagurus, that has recently moulted and has not yet formed its new shell: Compare hard-shell crab

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

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