snake charmer

American  

noun

1. an entertainer who seems to charm venomous snakes, usually by music.

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snake charmer British  

noun

1. an entertainer, esp in Asia, who charms or appears to charm snakes by playing music and by rhythmic body movements

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Etymology

Origin of snake charmer

First recorded in 1830–40

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

snake charmer

It was packed with clichés the West liked - the Indian royalty, a tiger hunt, mating cobras and a snake charmer.

From BBC ● Jan. 12, 2023

“I thought they were nightclubs. I was on the bill with a snake charmer once on 52nd Street.”

From Washington Post ● Aug. 14, 2018

Gold’s industry peers liken the way she does her job to the practice of an alchemist, a snake charmer, a card sharp, as if she were performing some kind of shadowy magic.

From The Guardian ● Apr. 26, 2018

This openness was best embodied on the show’s Thanksgiving episode, which featured Moroccan musicians, chefs from Colombia, Puerto Rico and Albania, a snake charmer and a cabdriver from Queens, all feasting together.

From New York Times ● Dec. 29, 2017

Breathing hard, bent over Tessie with trembling concentration, he moved the clarinet in circles, like a snake charmer.

From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides