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soft-shell

[ sawft-shel, soft- ]

/ ˈsɔftˌʃɛl, ˈsɒft- /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR soft-shell ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

Also soft-shelled. having a soft, flexible, or fragile shell, as a crab that has recently molted.

noun

a soft-shell animal, especially a soft-shell crab.

Origin of soft-shell

First recorded in 1795–1805

Words nearby soft-shell

soft-hearted, soft-land, soft-pedal, soft-rock geology, soft-sell, soft-shell, soft-shell clam, soft-shell crab, soft-shelled turtle, soft-shoe, soft-soap

Example sentences from the Web for soft-shell

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 |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 |DAILY BEAST
It is partial to the “soft-shell” crabs and small tortoises common in the American waters.

The Hunters' Feast |Mayne Reid
There is a weir in the river, in the deep waters of which it is said there are a very great number of soft-shell tortoises.

Travels in the Interior of North America, 1832-1834, Part III (the Text Being Chapters XXVIII-XXXIII of the London Edition, 1843, and the Appendix a Combination of the Appendices of the London and German [Coblentz, 1839] Editions) |Maximilian, Prinz von Wied

He comes at me wide open, with a guard like a soft-shell crab.

Shorty McCabe |Sewell Ford
If soft-shell crabs are not to be had, serve a creamed fish in whole cucumbers, as was suggested for a January luncheon.

Gala Day Luncheons |Caroline Benedict Burrell
Soft-shell crabs are liked very much by water turtles, if they are very fresh.

Harper's Young People, August 17, 1880 |Various