this post was submitted on 24 Jul 2025
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Such a weird idiom, I'd really appreciate some elaboration on where it comes from.
Apparently thinking about "the shrews" or "rooster's balls" or "the maternity of giraffes" or "pregnant birds" are also used.
Somebody claims it's from Greek mythology where a crab is talking to Zeus and claiming he's immortal because he doesn't just walk forward but in any direction (time-travel like). I couldn't find that myth, but there is one in which he gets... killed by Heracles for pinching his foot in a battle with the Hydra and gets placed among the stars by Zeus's wife as a reward for loyalty.
If there is an origin to the saying I don't think anyone knows it or thinks of it anymore. It's just a ridiculous/inexistent thing to think about, like those other examples above.
I like to imagine they're just a very educated populace and it refers to everything eventually evolving into a crab.