Crawfish (also called crayfish or crawdads) are freshwater crustaceans that look like tiny lobsters, usually about three to six inches long. They have hard shells, eight walking legs, two large claws, and long antennae. Most are brownish-green, though they turn bright red when cooked.

These creatures live in streams, ponds, and wetlands across North America, hiding under rocks during the day and coming out at night to hunt for small fish, plants, and debris. They walk forward but can shoot backward quickly when startled, using their powerful tail like a spring.

In Louisiana and other parts of the South, crawfish are a beloved food. People gather for crawfish boils, where the crawfish are cooked with spices, corn, and potatoes, then dumped on newspaper-covered tables for everyone to share. Eating them takes practice: you twist off the tail, pinch it, and pull out the meat.

The word crawfish can also be a verb meaning to back out of something you promised or committed to do. If someone agrees to help with a project but then crawfishes on their commitment, they're backing away from it, like the creature scooting backward to escape danger.