snake
- Also called auger, plumber's snake. (in plumbing) a device for dislodging obstructions in curved pipes, having a head fed into the pipe at the end of a flexible metal band.
- Also called wirepuller. a length of resilient steel wire, for threading through an electrical conduit so that wire can be pulled through after it.
Origin of snake
OTHER WORDS FROM snake
snakelike, adjectiveWords nearby snake
ABOUT THIS WORD
What else does snake mean?
Snake can be slang for a person who acts in a deceitful, underhanded, or backstabbing way.
Where does snake come from?
Snakes and serpents have long been figures of danger and deception. We need look no further than the Judeo-Christian story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, where a diabolical serpent duped Eve into eating the forbidden fruit from the Tree of Knowledge. Things didn’t go too well for her or Adam after that …
Deep fears and myths, not to mention the slithering and tongue-flicking nature of the reptile, helped make the word snake refer to a “treacherous, unreliable, and deceptive person” by at least the 1580s. An extended expression is snake in the grass, or “concealed danger,” recorded in the early 1600s. Snake, as a verb for “sneak” or “cheat,” is found in the 1860s and 1870s.
It’s not all so high-brow when it comes to sneaky snakes. The cartoon The Simpsons, for instance, has featured the minor character, and comical criminal, Snake Jailbird since 1991.
How is snake used in real life?
Snake is a widely used term for an untrustworthy person, especially deceitful men in romantic contexts.
forgot what a snake looked like until I met you
— brea🎃 (@brea_tolbert) November 14, 2018
The verb snake is also used when talking about someone acting in a fiendish, snake-like way.
If I find out that you snaked me I won’t move mad but the energy towards you will never be the same
— habib💎 (@H4bib0) May 18, 2020
And then of course there are more lighthearted takes on those sly and scheming snakes out there.
when you're in the middle of a makeout sesh and it hits you right then that this guy is a snake just like the rest. 🐍🐍🐍 pic.twitter.com/DL3IxEJkIF
— alyx🌵 (@AlyxGreenwood98) February 26, 2017
More examples of snake:
“Should I Connect With this Guy? 10 Signs He May be a Snake in the Grass”
—PreEngaged (title), March 2015
“Can’t trust everybody around you, those be the main ones ready to snake you”
—@taethomas35, November 2018
Note
This content is not meant to be a formal definition of this term. Rather, it is an informal summary that seeks to provide supplemental information and context important to know or keep in mind about the term’s history, meaning, and usage.