A bear claw is a sweet breakfast food, popular chiefly on the West Coast of the United States. It is an almond-flavored, yeast-raised pastry shaped in a large, irregular semicircle with slices around the outside, evoking the shape of a bear's claw. Bear claws often contain almond paste or raisins.

Other uses

The term bear claw is atypically used in reference to a strategic move in the sport of rowing. The move occurs when a crew attempts to move ahead with 10 or more hard strokes, also known as a Power 10. The call to perform a bear claw is made by the coxswain. A typical coxswain call to perform a bear claw might be, "Reach back for a bear claw in two, in one, on this one!" The bear claw itself is performed by the rowers, which lasts anywhere from 15 seconds to a minute or more, depending on the crew's cadence and whether the crew is competing in a head race or a 2000 meter sprint race.

Alternatively, the term bear claw is also used to describe the claw of an actual bear. Also the term bear claw is a hand gesture made by bending only the second joint of each finger on your hand, impersonating what looks like a bear claw. This hand gesture represents strength and unity.

In the Netherlands, "Berenklauw" (lit. Bear Claw) is one of the names given to a snack consisting of meatball slices and onion rings (both fried), held together with a cocktail stick, and optionally served with peanut sauce. In Belgium, however, this snack is referred to as a "Berenpoot", the nuance being the claw in the Netherlands and the paw in Belgium.

A "Bear Claw" style knife is a, typically small (less than 4"), knife that locks into the users hand by means of recesses and bevels, allowing the user to exert large amounts of force onto the blade whilst keeping the knife firmly in their grasp. This is useful in outdoors environments where a slick handle would render the knife difficult to handle, especially when a small knife is used.

Bear Claw is also a common fighting style using the palm and fingers to exert a large amount of direct force upon the target.

External links

• Dictionary of American Regional English: "Bear claw"