Sidewalking crab
A crab moving sideways — progress made by an indirect, lateral route across the sand.
A sidewalking crab in a dream is the dream's image of progress made by a lateral route rather than a direct one. The crab does not face the destination; it gets there. The dream brings the crab when something in your life — a negotiation, a piece of social manoeuvring, a way of approaching a problem — is choosing the side route because the front approach is blocked. A crab reaching the water by its own line is the dream affirming the lateral method. A crab flipped on its back, legs in the air, is the dream noting that the indirect approach was found out and exposed, and the creature that depends on the sideways angle is now in the worst possible position.