Royal Navy slang for boots issued by the navy — 'crabs' being slang for the items supplied by the purser (the ship's supply officer).
Royal Navy slang for boots issued by the navy — 'crabs' being slang for the items supplied by the purser (the ship's supply officer). The purser was responsible for distributing clothing and equipment, and items he issued were sometimes considered inferior or uncomfortable. 'Crabs' may reference the shape of the boots or their tendency to pinch.
He complained that his purser's crabs gave him blisters on the first march.
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UK and Irish slang — Cockney, Scouse, Geordie, Yorkshire, Glaswegian, Brummie, Welsh, West Country, plus Irish English. Centuries of regional dialects feeding into modern British and Irish street talk.
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Royal Navy slang for a purser — the officer responsible for supplies, provisions, and ship's stores. In the old Navy, the purser controlled everything from food rations to clothing, making them a figure of both respect and mild resentment among ordinary sailors. The word 'pusser' stuck as a casual, slightly irreverent shorthand that persists in naval slang today. It's also used adjectivally to mean strictly official or regulation-issue.
(US, naval, _, slang) A civilian.
In gambling slang, 'crabs' refers to rolling a two in craps — specifically a pair of aces, the lowest possible dice roll. It's an automatic loss on the come-out roll and one of the most dreaded results in the game. The term likely comes from the sideways-moving shape of the two dice side by side resembling the legs of a crab. In broader slang, 'crabs' can also refer to pubic lice, but in gambling contexts it specifically means snake eyes or the losing dice result.
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(UK, naval, _, slang) Boots issued by the navy.
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British Royal Navy slang for an accountant or paymaster — the officer responsible for crew wages and financial records aboard a ship. 'Paybob' has an affectionate, slightly irreverent tone that reflects naval lower-deck culture's habit of nicknaming every rank and role. It is largely a historical term associated with the Royal Navy's administrative culture from the 19th through mid-20th century, though it may still be used informally in some naval circles.