ˈrazor-shell
[f. razor n.: see quot. 1869.]
The shell of a Razor-fish, or the mollusc together with its shell. Also attrib.
| 1752 Sir J. Hill Hist. Anim. 170 The large, brown, common Solen, called the Razor-shell and Sheath-shell. 1792 J. Belknap Hist. New Hampshire III. 183 The Razor-shell clam ‘Solen ensis’. 1794 Collect. Mass. Hist. Soc. (1810) III. 199 The shores and marshes afford large and small clams, quahaugs, razor⁓shells,..and cockles. 1869 Wood Com. Shells (ed. 3) 31 That curious family which are appropriately termed Razor⁓shells, because, when perfect, the shell looks something like the handle of a closed razor. Ibid. 32 All the Razor-shells are edible. 1901 E. Step Shell Life ix. 155 We now reach the Razor-shell family, characterised by having the valves of the shell of equal length. 1928 Russell & Yonge Seas ii. 38 The long razor-shells (Solen) may occasionally be dug at low tide. 1971 Oxf. Bk. Invertebrates 80 The razor shells, looking like the old-fashioned cut⁓throat razors, are among the most specialized of the burrowing bivalves. |