devil's fingers

English

a common starfish or devil's fingers, Asterias rubens

a crab (infraorder Brachyura) with shell partially removed and gill masses or devil's fingers indicated

devil's fingers fungus, Clathrus archeri, in Ulm, Germany

Noun

devil's fingers pl (normally plural, singular devil's finger)

1. (archaic or rare) [19th century] A starfish, especially Asterias rubens.

   Synonym: sea star

   • 1876, George L. Austin, “Poetical Zoölogy”, in Appleton’s Journal, page 144:

     In Ireland, and elsewhere, there exists a common species of starfish known as the “devil’s hands,” or the “devil’s fingers,” and children have a superstitious dread of touching them.

   • 1902, F. Martin Duncan, “The Artful Starfish”, in The Royal Magazine, volume 10, page 327:

     Its peculiar shape has gained the starfish many names even round the coasts of Great Britain, such as “crossfish,” “sunfish,” “old five fingers,” “five-fingered Jack,” “cramps,” and “devil’s hand” or “devil’s fingers.”

2. (informal, US) The gills of various species of crabs.

   Synonyms: dead men's fingers, dead men

   • 1992 June 21, Rob Kasper, “To cut, or not to cut, the mustard”, in The Sun, Baltimore, Maryland, page 1G:

     I removed the underside of the crab called its apron. I opened it up and removed the gills or “devil’s fingers.” And I removed its eyes and mouth.

   • 2001 June 6, Patricia Talorico, “Just forget that it’s a whole crab; take a bite and enjoy that flavor”, in The News Journal, Wilmington, Delaware, page D1:

     Next, remove the apron from the underside of the crab. Finally, Curtis says, you’ll need to lift up each side of the shell and remove the gills or the “devil’s fingers.”

   • 2007 August 3, John Geiser, “Take rusties over jimmies when hunting for good-eatin’ crabs”, in Asbury Park Press, Asbury Park, New Jersey:

     Once the shell is off, the crab’s gills or lungs, variously called “devil’s fingers” or “dead men” are exposed. These are gray-white, feathery-looking parts that are inedible and must be scraped off and thrown away.

3. A fungus, Clathrus archeri, featuring pink or white 'arms' erupting from a white ball-like body, with a putrid odor.

   Synonym: octopus stinkhorn

   • 2006 October 21, Peter Marren, “Day of the fungi”, in The Daily Telegraph, page 15:

     In North America, and increasingly in gardens in southern England, the bizarre Devil’s Fingers, Clathrus archeri, is enlivening our autumns. The first sign of it is usually a horrible stink like rotten meat. A little poking around in the shrubbery should reveal its science fiction-like body, resembling slimy scarlet tentacles emerging from a half-buried egg.

   • 2014 December 20, “Two rare fungi found on Devon wildlife sites”, in The Western Morning News, Plymouth, England, page 4:

     Specimens of the aptly named devil’s fingers and the coral-like hazel gloves were spotted nestling in the undergrowth at Devon Wildlife Trust sites.

   • 2021 September 17, Faith Pring, “Weird fungus known as ‘devil’s fingers’ found in city”, in Derby Evening Telegraph, page 20:

     “Devil’s fingers”, also known as Clathrus Archeri, were first spotted in the UK in 1914, and tend to favour moist and shaded areas of wood chips.

4. plural of devil's finger (“cephalopod of the order Belemnitida”)

   Synonyms: belemnite, fingerstone

Further reading

• Common starfish on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Clathrus archeri on Wikipedia.Wikipedia