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Crab (Grose 1811 Dictionary)

Crab

To catch a crab; to fall backwards by missing one’s stroke in rowing.

Definition taken from The 1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, originally by Francis Grose.

Coxcomb * Crab Lanthorn

Nearby

Nathan Bailey's 1736 Dictionary of canting and thieving slang

John S. Farmer's collection of canting songs and slang rhymes

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About

Francis Grose was independently wealthy, having inherited money from his father, a jeweller. Finding himself overspending, he published a number of books; his Provincial Glossary seems to have been the starting-point for the Vulgar Tongue reproduced here.

Cow
Cow Juice
Cow’s Baby
Cow’s Courant
Cow-handed
Cow-hearted
Cow Itch
Cow’s Spouse
Cow’s Thumb
Coxcomb
Crab
Crab Lanthorn
Crab Louse
Crab Shells
Crabs
Crabbed
Crack
To Crack
the Crack
Cracker
Crackish