What is "soft-shell clam"

Long \Long\, a. [Compar. Longer; superl. Longest.] [AS. long, lang; akin to OS, OFries., D., & G. lang, Icel. langr, Sw. l[*a]ng, Dan. lang, Goth. laggs, L. longus. [root]125. Cf. Length, Ling a fish, Linger, Lunge, Purloin.]

1. Drawn out in a line, or in the direction of length; protracted; extended; as, a long line; -- opposed to short, and distinguished from broad or wide.

2. Drawn out or extended in time; continued through a considerable tine, or to a great length; as, a long series of events; a long debate; a long drama; a long history; a long book.

3. Slow in passing; causing weariness by length or duration; lingering; as, long hours of watching.

4. Occurring or coming after an extended interval; distant in time; far away.

   The we may us reserve both fresh and strong Against the tournament, which is not long.
   --Spenser.

5. Having a length of the specified measure; of a specified length; as, a span long; a yard long; a mile long, that is, extended to the measure of a mile, etc.

6. Far-reaching; extensive. `` Long views.''
   --Burke.

7. (Phonetics) Prolonged, or relatively more prolonged, in utterance; -- said of vowels and syllables. See Short, a., 13, and Guide to Pronunciation, [sect][sect] 22, 30.

8. (Finance & Com.) Having a supply of stocks or goods; prepared for, or depending for a profit upon, advance in prices; as, long of cotton. Hence, the phrases: to be, or go, long of the market, to be on the long side of the market, to hold products or securities for a rise in price, esp. when bought on a margin. Contrasted to short. Note: Long is used as a prefix in a large number of compound adjectives which are mostly of obvious meaning; as, long-armed, long-beaked, long-haired, long-horned, long-necked, long-sleeved, long-tailed, long- worded, etc. In the long run, in the whole course of things taken together; in the ultimate result; eventually. Long clam (Zo["o]l.), the common clam ( Mya arenaria) of the Northern United States and Canada; -- called also soft-shell clam and long-neck clam. See Mya. Long cloth, a kind of cotton cloth of superior quality. Long clothes, clothes worn by a young infant, extending below the feet. Long division. (Math.) See Division. Long dozen, one more than a dozen; thirteen. Long home, the grave. Long measure, Long meter. See under Measure, Meter. Long Parliament (Eng. Hist.), the Parliament which assembled Nov. 3, 1640, and was dissolved by Cromwell, April 20, 1653. Long price, the full retail price. Long purple (Bot.), a plant with purple flowers, supposed to be the Orchis mascula. --Dr. Prior. Long suit

   1. (Whist), a suit of which one holds originally more than three cards.
      --R. A. Proctor.

   2. One's most important resource or source of strength; as, as an entertainer, her voice was her long suit. Long tom.

      1. A pivot gun of great length and range, on the dock of a vessel.

      2. A long trough for washing auriferous earth. [Western U.S.]

   3. (Zo["o]l.) The long-tailed titmouse.

      Long wall (Coal Mining), a working in which the whole seam is removed and the roof allowed to fall in, as the work progresses, except where passages are needed.

      Of long, a long time. [Obs.]
      --Fairfax.

      To be long of the market, or To go long of the market, To be on the long side of the market, etc. (Stock Exchange), to hold stock for a rise in price, or to have a contract under which one can demand stock on or before a certain day at a stipulated price; -- opposed to short in such phrases as, to be short of stock, to sell short, etc. [Cant] See Short.

      To have a long head, to have a farseeing or sagacious mind.

1. n. a clam that is usually steamed in the shell [syn: steamer, steamer clam, long-neck clam]

2. an edible clam with thin oval-shaped shell found in coastal regions of the United States and Europe [syn: steamer, steamer clam, long-neck clam, Mya arenaria]

Soft-shell clams (American English) or sand gaper (British English/Europe), scientific name Mya arenaria, popularly called "steamers", "softshells", "longnecks", "piss clams", " Ipswich clams", or " Essex clams" are a species of edible saltwater clam, a marine bivalve mollusk in the family Myidae.