rat snake

noun

any of several New and Old World colubrid snakes, of the genus Elaphe, that feed chiefly on small mammals and birds.

rat snake

any of various nonvenomous rodent-eating colubrid snakes, such as Elaphe obsoleta of North America and Ptyas mucosus of Asia

First recorded in 1855–60

How does rat snake compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

All the roofs of the thatched bungalows swarm with rats, and in every house is kept a rat-snake, which kills and eats these rats.

A friend informs us that he once saw in these gardens a rat-snake of Ceylon devour a common Coluber natrix.

There is a belief in Ceylon that the bite of the rat-snake, though harmless to man, is fatal to black cattle.

A person should postpone an errand on which he is starting, if he sees a cobra or rat-snake.

One the great serpent would select, would lap in scaly coils, crush to a red pulp and swallow as a rat-snake swallows a mouse.

April 19, 2024tortuous

[tawr-choo-uhs ]

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