Note 1: "Mitten" refers to the shape of the crab being tied up looking like a mitten glove. In Chinese, 大閘蟹 literally means "big weir crab"; "weir" is a sort of bamboo barrier placed in water for catching fish, shrimps, crabs, etc. In Japanese, it is known as 上海蟹.

Note 2: In Cantonese, 大閘蟹 is also the first part of a 歇後語 with 綁死 as the hidden part. 綁死 means "tied up tightly", referring literally to the mitten crabs being tied up before being cooked. It also refers figuratively to persons whose money are being tied up in a low stock/property market or any speculative business and are unable to sell their stocks/properties or do anything about the situation.