I just read this over at Jacob's ERE forum--From Dragline Master. I believe he posts here too.
Crabs in a bucket is an analogy about those living below their means and seeking early retirement. It's a great analogy. When crabs are in a bucket, they could easily all escape, but as the crab will try and leave, another crab will pull it down. Hence a constant game of King of the Hill in which no crab escapes.
Same with us--by LBOM, saving money, intent on ER, it draws mostly sarcastic comments, instead of "congratulations, how did you do that, can I learn from you".