[Note: Parts of this entry were previously at crawdad.]
crawcrab n Also crawl crab chiefly WV, wMD Cf crab n 1, crawlfish n
= crawfish n B1.
1887 San Saba News (TX) [30 Sept 4]/5 (newspaperarchive.com), This reminds us very much of the old craw crab telling her young ones to swim forward like the fishes. 1908 Cumberland Alleganian (MD) 7 May 3/3, A party of down-the-road fishermen are exterminating the silver-sides, craw-crabs, waterdogs and perch in Little Savage. c1935 in 1944 ADD (at crawdad) eWV, Crawl-crab. 1955 Cumberland Eve. Times (MD) 26 Apr sec 2 1/5, Some of the questions asked by the prospective campers include: . . Do you have crawl crabs in the lake? 1960 Sun. Gaz.–Mail (Charleston WV) 26 June sec D 6/1, “We got ’em on worms,” one boy announced. “They aren’t biting on crawcrabs (crayfish) at all.” 1970 DARE (Qu. P19, . . Small, freshwater crayfish) Inf WV14, Crawcrab. 1970 DARE Tape WV14, Crawcrabs around here—you know some people call ’em crawdads. . . They’re crayfish, is really what they are. 1994 Goldenseal 20.4.41 WV, The first time I witched a well was years back. My cousin . . and I were digging out a spring vein that the craw crabs had turned away from the watering trough. 2014 Cumberland Times–News (MD) 3 Aug sec B 7/3, Will the ban on crawl crabs go through? That’s what we called them when I was a kid. 2016 DARE File—Internet cWV, I live in the almost Geographic center of WV. . . I’m 43, so I remember before all the craziness started. . . The . . creeks used to be full of minows and crawcrabs (crawfish).