Lobster Talk

Lobstermen live in a world all their own, and they have the lingo to prove it. Most of the slang goes back many generations to anonymous origins, but you have to applaud the colorful characters who came up with "bugs", "cocks" and "rubbers." So here you go!

Banding: Placing flexible bands around lobster claws to protect them from each other and silly humans.

Berries: lobster eggs; they're almost always found on the underside of females' tails.

Bugs: general slang for lobsters.

Cock: a male lobster.

Crack-back: a lobster with a split up the back as a prelude to molting.

Culls: lobsters missing claws or limbs.

Egger: an egg-bearing female.

Gauge: a measured metal bar used to check for legal lobster length.

Hen, Hennies: female lobsters; the term generally refers to females with eggs, since this distinction immediately identifies their sex when they are removed from traps.

Jellies: soft, newly molted lobsters.

New-shell lobster: a recently molted lobster whose shell is still soft, but harder than a rubber lobster's. They're usually still too fragile for banding and rarely sold for eating.

Pistol: a lobster missing both claws.

Rubber lobster: a molting lobster that has just shed its shell and is soft and very fragile; other terms include "rubber," "jello-lobster," "jelly" and "rags."

Shorts: lobsters of sub-legal size, usually 3 inches or shorter; they're also called "snappers."

Soft-shell lobster: the hardest variety of a molting lobster that can be banded and sold; once cooked, its shell can usually be removed by hand.

Tomalley: the green-colored "liver" of the lobster; some folks consider it a delicacy, while others deem it inedible. It is often used as a flavoring in sauces.

Trap: a two-section cage used to catch lobster. The bait is placed in the front section, called the "kitchen." The rear section, where the lobster is typically trapped, is known as the "parlor."

Trawl: a line of traps connected by a ground line with marker buoys at both ends.

Turd: another name for a soft, newly molted lobster.