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

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

From Time Magazine Archive

City Snake In Manhattan's Times Square district, one Thomas Taconet, night watchman, last week saw�and killed�a six-foot blacksnake.

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

The fact that it was only a large blacksnake and non-poisonous made 114 no difference at that moment to the dog or to the little girl—nor to Joseph Stagg when he saw it.

From Carolyn of the Corners by Endicott, Ruth Belmore

The boy came quickly to his side, giving him the blacksnake.

From Man to Man by Gregory, Jackson