Crabstick
noun
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A cudgel, originally made of the wood of a crabapple tree, hence any similar club. archaic
"[O]ne of them who appeared to have the most spirit had a knotted crab-stick in his hand, and insisted that the Irishman should not leave the company, till he had first given satisfaction for the insult he had committed on them all."
- 2 A processed food, made of surimi to somewhat resemble the legs of a crab.
- 3 A crabby, ill-tempered person. obsolete
Example
More examples"[O]ne of them who appeared to have the most spirit had a knotted crab-stick in his hand, and insisted that the Irishman should not leave the company, till he had first given satisfaction for the insult he had committed on them all."
Etymology
Etymology 1
From crab (“wild apple”) + stick.
Etymology 2
From crab (“crustacean”) + stick.
Related phrases
More for "crabstick"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.