gopher snake

American  

noun

1. a bullsnake, Pituophis melanoleucus, of western North America, that invades burrows to prey on rodents.

2. indigo snake.

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Etymology

Origin of gopher snake

An Americanism dating back to 1830–40

Example Sentences

Dr. Ditmars fed him a six-foot gopher snake, turned a hose on his conqueror.

From Time Magazine Archive

That gopher snake just passed on the trail, with a young rabbit half swallowed, illustrates near enough how one-half of the world is trying to swallow the other.

From A Breeze from the Woods, 2nd Ed. by Bartlett, William Chauncey

But are they wise, and retiring, like the house-haunting gopher snake of the South?

From The Minds and Manners of Wild Animals A Book of Personal Observations by Hornaday, William Temple

The gopher snake was harmless; perhaps, if I could get him so close to it that he would see it wriggle away from under his feet, he might be less indifferent to rattlers.

From A-Birding on a Bronco by Merriam, Florence A.

A long, spotted gopher snake slipped through the dead grass on the ground beneath.

From The Strength of the Pines by Marshall, Edison