Why is it called craps?

For a game this famous, the name has a surprisingly muddy origin - two stories, both plausible, both rooted in the moment Hazard crossed the Atlantic to New Orleans.

Quick answer: Two explanations compete, both from the game's New Orleans days. 'Craps' may come from the French 'crapaud,' meaning toad - a nod to players crouching over street games - or from 'crabs,' the old English name for the losing throw in Hazard, the game craps descends from.

The toad theory

In French, crapaud means toad. When Bernard de Marigny brought the dice game to New Orleans around 1805, it spread fastest in the streets, where players squatted over the dice like toads. The theory goes that 'crapaud' got clipped to 'craps' as the French-speaking city's slang passed into English. It fits the street craps tradition that still exists today.

The crabs theory

In the English game Hazard, throwing 'crabs' meant rolling the instant-losing numbers - the throw that ended your turn. As Hazard simplified into the New Orleans game, 'crabs' arguably softened into 'craps' and attached to the losing come-out totals 2, 3 and 12, which are still called craps numbers today. Rolling one on the come-out is 'crapping out.'

Which is right?

Probably both fed the name - loanwords rarely have one clean parent. What's certain is that the losing totals kept the name: 2, 3 and 12 are craps, a come-out loss is crapping out, and the whole game inherited the word. For more of the table's colorful vocabulary - yo, boxcars, snake eyes, seven-out - browse the craps glossary.

Browse the craps glossary

Related questions

Where does craps come from?

Craps descends from Hazard, an English dice game played since the 14th century - Chaucer mentions it. Bernard de Marigny brought the game to New Orleans around 1805 and simplified it, and John H. Winn added the don't pass option and the modern layout around 1907.

What is Hazard, the dice game?

Hazard is the medieval English dice game that craps descends from, played in taverns since the 14th century and mentioned by Chaucer. You call a 'main' from 5 to 9, then roll: hitting the main wins instantly, 2 or 3 loses, and other totals set a 'chance' you must repeat before the main.

What is snake eyes?

Snake eyes is the roll of double 1s - a total of 2, named for the two single pips staring up like eyes. It's one of the craps numbers, so it loses the pass line on the come-out, and the one-roll Aces bet on it pays 30:1 against true odds of 35:1.