crabs

Everyday

1. Sea or shore animals with a hard shell, ten legs and two big claws that walk sideways. tree →
2. The meat of these animals, eaten as food. tree →

In the lessons

In science, crabs are crustaceans (like lobsters and shrimps): invertebrates with an outer skeleton (exoskeleton) that they shed as they grow. At the beach, children look for crabs in rock pools — safety: pick them up gently from behind, mind the claws, and put them back where you found them. Phrases: «rock pool crabs», «hermit crabs», «walk like a crab», «crab legs».

Examples

• We found three little crabs in the rock pool. tree →
• Crabs walk sideways across the sand. tree →
• Hold crabs from behind so they can't pinch you. tree →
• Hermit crabs live in empty shells. tree →
• Crabs shed their hard shells when they grow. tree →
• Put the crabs back in the water before you go home. tree →
• Dad ordered crab cakes at the seaside restaurant. tree →
• Crabs are crustaceans, not insects. tree →
• There grew water-plants, some quite fresh, and others looking sickly, which had water-snakes twining round them, and black crabs clinging to their stems. tree →

Note

Countable: one crab, two crabs; the food is uncountable: «some crab». «Crabby» or «crabbed» means grumpy. Crabs are not fish and not insects; they have ten legs, insects have six. In maths problems, a crab has 10 legs (8 walking legs and 2 claws).