hermit crab shell
Adopted spiral home
The shell a hermit crab inhabits—borrowed from a dead snail or other mollusk, since hermit crabs don't grow their own.
As the crab grows, it must find progressively larger shells.
The term extends figuratively to any borrowed or temporary dwelling: She moved from apartment to apartment, each one just another hermit crab shell.
- borrowedTaken for temporary use
- spiralCurve winding around center
- snailShelled, slow-moving mollusk
- tide poolWave-stranded water hollow
- scuttleSink intentionally; hurried shuffle
claws · beach · beach combing · protection · dwelling · molt · ocean · gastropod · home · mobile home · swap · anemone · saltwater · pinch · exoskeleton · portable · burrow · sand
shell origin/production
hermit crab shellsnail shell
Mollusk's protective spiral housing
turtle shell · clam shell · oyster shell · nautilus shell · mussel shell
hermit, crab, shell, hermits, hermitage, crabs, crabby, crabbed, shells