Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- adjective Having a soft, brittle, or unhardened shell, often as the result of a recent molt.
- noun A soft-shell aquatic animal.
from The Century Dictionary.
- Same as
soft-shelled .
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- adjective Having a soft or fragile shell.
- adjective (Zoöl.) the long clam. See
Mya . - adjective (Zoöl.) See the Note under
Crab , 1. - adjective (Zoöl.) Same as Soft tortoise, under
Soft .
Etymologies
Sorry, no etymologies found.
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Examples
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• Swap shrimp tempura or soft-shell crab rolls for California or shrimp/cucumber rolls.
The Small Change Diet Keri Gans 2011
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The soft-shell crab is very good, and you might catch a glimpse of Russell Crowe—he has an apartment nearby.
Sydney: Autumn in Oz Geoffrey Rogow 2011
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This makes total evolutionary sense: Traditionally-built turtles (thank you, Ladies 'Detective Agency) don't need to invest resources in speed, soft-shell turtles do.
Speedy the Turtle 2009
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Shown, the pan-seared soft-shell crab with roasted tomato polenta, arugula salad and sauce vierge.
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Eli Meir Kaplan for The Wall Street Journal Guest Steven R. Knight ate the pan-seared soft-shell crab with roasted tomato polenta and arugula salad and sauce vierge at the Sofitel hotel's Ici Urban Bistro in Washington, D.C., on May 26.
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This makes total evolutionary sense: Traditionally-built turtles (thank you, Ladies 'Detective Agency) don't need to invest resources in speed, soft-shell turtles do.
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Also highlighted is the so-called Trefa Banquet, a controversial 1883 celebration, in Cincinnati, of Hebrew Union College's first graduating class of rabbis that featured such nonkosher delicacies as soft-shell crabs, shrimp salad, oysters and frog's legs.
American Jews' Story Told in a New Home Julia M. Klein 2011
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O'Malley imagined the blissful, narcotic innocence of Toby's world where soft-shell crabs crawled into people's mouths and hummed a happy tune as they were chewed and swallowed.
Big Secrets Benjamin Matvey 2011
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Stealing a glance, I expected it to be brimming with position papers, state secrets, perhaps even the briefing book I'd penned on the primary — "Maryland is famous for soft-shell crabs and political corruption; not necessarily in that order," I recall it began.
Politicos on the Home Front Ralph Gardner Jr. 2010
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Eli Meir Kaplan for The Wall Street Journal Clockwise from top right, chilled English pea soup with fresh mint; Virginia red beet spring mix salad with Vermont goat cheese and truffle mousse, black olive tapenade, and red beet puree; pan-seared soft-shell crab with roasted tomato polenta and arugula salad with sauce vierge; and a raspberry tart.
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