25 Crab Quotes Full Of Crustacean Wisdom
We all know how to spot crabs thanks to their distinctive hard shells, pincers, and unique way of scuttling sideways. These key features not only highlight their adaptability in various habitats but also resonate with the symbolism found in many crab quotes. These sayings give us insights into their representation of perseverance, life cycles, and more.
Quick links to our selection of crab quotes:
Crab Quotes About The Importance Of The Crustaceans
Crabs play a crucial role in marine ecosystems as both predators and prey. Sporting a hard exoskeleton and equipped with claws, they are a common sight along shorelines and ocean floors worldwide. Like lobsters, they are detritivores. This means they help clean up the ocean by feasting on decomposing matter, maintaining a balanced environment.
After reading the quotes below, deepen your knowledge of these crustaceans by visiting our crab facts and types of crabs.
"In truth we are partners of the fish, the crab, the grasses that grow beyond our sight. Upon their survival hangs our own."
- Jacques-Yves Cousteau
"What is the pattern that connects the crab to the lobster and the primrose to the orchid, and all of them to me, and me to you?"
- Gregory Bateson
Positive Crab Quotes To Motivate You
Crabs symbolize protection and rebirth in many cultures. Native American tribes, for instance, often regard the crab as a guardian of sacred waters, embodying cycles of renewal thanks to its molting. Furthermore, their sideways walk inspires us to consider alternative paths in life, urging adaptability and resilience.
Here are some of the best quotes about these shellfish that will supply your motivation tank.
"Just like crabs leave imprints in the sand, let your actions leave lasting positive impacts on others."
- Unknown
"Don't be part of a bucket of crabs. Be the crab that gets out."
- Leigh Alexandra
"Do not be the proverbial crab in a bucket and make war with those around you! Work together and grow! Love! Live Life!"
- Marvin Gaye
Quotes About Crab Mentality And The Human Mind
The term "crab mentality" refers to the crustaceans' behavior in a bucket where they pull each other down, preventing any single crab from escaping. This instinctive act is a survival tactic, yet it hinders progress.
Among humans, this metaphor warns against similar actions. If we mimic this, pulling others back to prevent their success, no one advances. We need to promote support and celebrate achievements rather than hindering one another.
Check out other quotes relating the crustacean to people.
"Matter of fact, the only thing a crab is good for is holding back other crabs. A crab don't want to see another crab make it."
- Lord Rufus Crabmiser
"One of the things I’ve learned about vision is people will grab it mentally or, have a crab mentality."
- Onyi Anyado
"Have you ever watched a crab on the shore crawling backward in search of the Atlantic Ocean, and missing? That's the way the mind of man operates."
- H. L. Mencken
"Worse, I have to admit to feeling the jealousy of one crab for another that has managed to climb out of the barrel."
- Richard Russo
"Through searching out origins, one becomes a crab. The historian looks backwards, and finally he also believes backwards."
- Friedrich Nietzsche
Other Metaphorical Crab Quotes To Think About
More quotes below show how these crustaceans carry other symbolic meanings. For example, the Jamaican saying about hearing crabs coughing near mango tree roots suggests that even the most unlikely outcomes can be realized with effort and perseverance. Try to decipher the meanings of the other proverbs and sayings.
"If you put your ears close to the roots of a mango tree, you will hear crabs coughing."
- Jamaican Saying
"Walk straight, my son - as the old crab said to the young crab."
- Irish Proverb
"A lame crab walks straight."
- Afghani Proverb
"There are souls which, crab-like, crawl continually toward darkness, going back in life rather than advancing in it, using what experience they have to increase their deformity, growing worse without ceasing, and becoming steeped more and more thoroughly in an intensifying wickedness."
- Victor Hugo
"There are three species of creatures who when they seem coming are going, when they seem going they come: diplomats, women, and crabs."
- John Hay
"Oysters open completely when the moon is full; and when the crab sees one it throws a piece of stone or seaweed into it and the oyster cannot close again so that it serves the crab for meat. Such is the fate of him who opens his mouth too much and thereby puts himself at the mercy of the listener."
- Leonardo da Vinci
"I've always wanted to be a giant space crab."
- Gabe Newell
Notable Quotes In Literature About Crabs
Crabs frequently appear in literature as symbols of life's cycles and nature's interconnectedness. Thoreau, for instance, compares our actions to land crab offspring instinctively journeying to the sea. He suggests that our actions, too, join the vast ocean of consequences from the moment they unfold, creating an endless effect. His quote is a poetic reminder of our actions' lasting impact on the world.
Reflect on more quotes from other authors and poets below.
"Our last deed, like the young of the land crab, wends its way to the sea of cause and effect as soon as born, and makes a drop there to eternity."
- Henry David Thoreau
"I could see nothing behind that child's eye. / I have seen eyes in the street / Trying to peer through lighted shutters, / And a crab one afternoon in a pool, / An old crab with barnacles on his back, / Gripped the end of a stick which I held him."
- T. S. Eliot
"Glistening golden sands of the beach, / A lunch box for venomous crabs, / Stormy waves dispatching sheets of salt, / With metallic clangs on crab shell, / Prompting elaborate spread of noxious tentacles, / Temporary dislocating the gallant brown spider, / Into well spun cocoons of slippery mud."
- Nikhil Parekh
"Big sisters are the crab grass in the lawn of life."
- Charles M. Schulz
"A country without a patent office and good patent laws is just a crab, and can't travel any way but sideways and backways."
- Mark Twain
Quotes About Crab Cakes And Other Food
Crabs are prized for their sweet, succulent meat and are a staple in diverse cuisines. A classic dish, crab cakes, showcases their delicate flavor in a savory blend of spices and breadcrumbs. Whether steamed, grilled, or baked, crab dishes offer a taste of the sea that many eat worldwide.
Here are a few quotes that share this sentiment.
"If a D.C. event doesn't have crab cakes, it's low-rent and you need to flee."
- Tony Hale
"Some versions of crab cakes are mostly crabmeat lightly bound with egg, but I'm a firm believer that a crab cake should contain bread crumbs."
- Tom Douglas
"A pound of Alaskan king crab legs and buffalo shrimp is equal to a happy Travie."
- Travie McCoy
Isabela is a determined millennial passionate about continuously seeking out ways to make an impact. With a bachelor of science degree in civil engineering with honors, Isabela’s research expertise and interest in artistic works, coupled with a creative mindset, offers readers a fresh take on different environmental, social, and personal development topics.
