catch a crab
v. phr.— «And they oohed with disappointment when another boat stopped dead in the water as one of the rowers “caught a crab” as they say in the sport: An oar caught water and was pulled downward resulting in an urgent need to halt the boat.» —“They pull for East Hartford High” by John Karas East Hartford Gazette (Connecticut) Oct. 30, 2008. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
A Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, listener has been pondering the saying It’s an ill wind that blows nobody good, and specifically whether she uses it correctly. The expression usually appears as It’s an ill wind that blows nobody any good, means that...
Lindsay in San Diego, California, says some of her younger coworkers use the phrase out of pocket to mean “unavailable,” but she’s also heard it used to mean “acting out of line.” The meaning of this phrase usually involves one of three things...
This phrase appears in “Through the Looking Glass”, Chapter 5 (in which Alice suddenly finds herself rowing in a boat with the Sheep):
“‘Feather! Feather!’ the Sheep cried again, taking more needles. ‘You’ll be catching a crab directly.'”
alot of older inmates use it on the newer inmates “catch a crab”,
seeking out fresh meat or punk them out.