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

You see he had seen little Luke's battle with the blacksnake and was drumming and screaming for joy.

From The Magic Speech Flower or Little Luke and His Animal Friends by Hix, Melvin

Then she slipped to the doorway of the shack and picked up the blacksnake whip which she had tossed away.

From The Mesa Trail by Bedford-Jones, H.

Once more the blacksnake whirled, and Cordova leaned back to give the stroke the full stretch of arm and body; yet Alcatraz did not so much as lift an ear.

From Alcatraz by Brand, Max