claw vs flipper

claw

noun
  • The act of catching a ball overhand. 

  • The pincer (chela) of a crustacean or other arthropod. 

  • A curved, pointed horny nail on each digit of the foot of a mammal, reptile, or bird. 

  • A mechanical device resembling a claw, used for gripping or lifting. 

  • A slender appendage or process, formed like a claw, such as the base of petals of the pink. 

  • A human fingernail, particularly one extending well beyond the fingertip. 

  • A foot equipped with such. 

verb
  • To scratch or to tear at. 

  • To use the claws to climb. 

  • To perform a claw catch. 

  • To use the claws to seize, to grip. 

  • To move with one's fingertips. 

flipper

noun
  • A flat lever in a pinball machine, triggered by the player to strike the ball and keep it in play. 

  • Television remote control, clicker. 

  • A type of ball bowled by a leg spin bowler, which spins backwards and skids off the pitch with a low bounce. 

  • A kind of false tooth, usually temporary. 

  • A small flat used to support a larger one. 

  • Someone who flips, in the sense of buying a house or other asset and selling it quickly for profit. 

  • Someone who flips in any other sense, for example throwing a coin. 

  • In marine mammals such as whales, a wide flat limb, adapted for swimming. 

  • A flat, wide, paddle-like rubber covering for the foot, used in swimming. 

  • A kitchen spatula. 

verb
  • To lift one or both flippers out of the water and slap the surface of the water. 

How often have the words claw and flipper occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )