Claw-Plach

'Clawplach'

The Decapodians have instituted the tradition of clawplach. The relatively new part of this tradition (18 years old) is that once the challenge has been initiated, it must be finished. This is a fight to the death in a public arena to settle matters of honor, and also whether abbreviations count in Scrabble (Zoidberg maintains that they don't), or, more usually, for money. Weapons are allowed, but some Decapodians prefer to use their own claws, so that they can have the pleasure of cutting their enemies themselves. The combatant who guesses the animal the Monarch of Decapod 10 is thinking of has first choice of weapons. Dr. Zoidberg invoked clawplagh to challenge Fry for the hand of the beautiful Edna in "Why Must I Be a Crustacean in Love?".

Clawplagh is a parody of kalifee, a similar Vulcan tradition from Star Trek, and the fight scene in "Why Must I be a Crustacean in Love" is a parody of Kirk and Spock fighting in the "Amok Time" episode. Before the clawplagh, the famous musical underscore composed by Gerald Fried for the "Amok Time" fight scene is briefly heard as the Decapodian "national anthem." The name, however, is derived from the traditional Klingon phrase "Qapla'!" Literally translated, "Qapla'!" means "success."