crayfish

Everyday

1. A small freshwater animal like a tiny lobster, with claws, a hard shell and ten legs, living in rivers, streams and lakes. tree →
2. (UK, Australia, NZ) A name also used for the spiny lobster (rock lobster), a sea animal without big claws; in NZ it is also called «crayfish» or «koura». tree →
3. The meat of these animals eaten as food: «crayfish sandwich». tree →

In the lessons

In science lessons on rivers and habitats, crayfish are crustaceans (like crabs and shrimps) and their presence can show clean water. In the UK, the native white-clawed crayfish is endangered because the larger American signal crayfish spreads a disease; people must not move crayfish between rivers. In the southern USA, «crawfish boils» are a Louisiana tradition. Phrases: «freshwater crayfish», «signal crayfish», «crayfish boil».

Examples

• We found a crayfish hiding under a stone in the stream. tree →
• Crayfish have ten legs and two big claws. tree →
• The white-clawed crayfish is the UK's only native crayfish. tree →
• In Louisiana, people call them crawfish and boil them with corn. tree →
• In New Zealand, we ate crayfish caught off the coast. tree →
• Crayfish shed their hard shells as they grow. tree →
• Herons eat crayfish from the river. tree →
• Thus the Old Ritualists will not eat the crayfish (rak), holding that it was created by the Devil. tree →

Note

Plural usually «crayfish» (the same), sometimes «crayfishes». In the USA, also «crawfish» or «crawdad». It is not a fish; the name comes from an old French word for crab that English speakers changed to sound like «fish». It is a crustacean, not an insect.