blacksnake

American  

[blak-sneyk] / ˈblækˌsneɪk /

Or black snake

noun

1. Also called black racer.  a blackish racer, Coluber constrictor subspecies, of the eastern U.S., that grows to a length of 6 feet (1.8 meters).

2. any of various other snakes of a black or very dark color.

3. a heavy, tapering, flexible whip of braided cowhide or the like.

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blacksnake British  

/ ˈblækˌsneɪk /

noun

1. any of several Old World black venomous elapid snakes, esp Pseudechis porphyriacus ( Australian blacksnake )

2. any of various dark nonvenomous snakes, such as Coluber constrictor (black racer)

3. a long heavy pliant whip of braided leather or rawhide

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Etymology

Origin of blacksnake

An Americanism dating back to 1625–35; black + snake

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

blacksnake

Helen Menken lashes the audience's breath away with a blacksnake whip in the second-act climax.

From Time Magazine Archive

“We’re in blacksnake habitat. Another reason for Alice and her pig to stop here.”

From "On the Far Side of the Mountain" by Jean Craighead George

Save on the Sunday when Prince had killed the 181 blacksnake, Miss Amanda had not spoken directly to the hardware merchant in all these hungry years.

From Carolyn of the Corners by Endicott, Ruth Belmore

Barbee brought a heavy blacksnake in his hand.

From Man to Man by Gregory, Jackson

Over and over he asked her where the trouble was, but she only gripped the hames, leaned along the bay's neck, and slashed away with the blacksnake.

From Freckles by Stratton-Porter, Gene