whipsnake

American  

[hwip-sneyk, wip-] / ˈʰwɪpˌsneɪk, ˈwɪp- /

Or whip snake

noun

1. any of several long, slender New World snakes of the genus Masticophis, the tail of which resembles a whip.

2. any of various similar or related snakes.

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Etymology

Origin of whipsnake

First recorded in 1765–75; whip + snake

Example Sentences

The whipsnake of a beautiful changing green, and the coral, with alternate broad traverse bars of black and red, glide from bush to bush, and may be handled with safety; they are harmless little creatures.

From Wanderings in South America by Waterton, Charles

Again, there was a whipsnake, and a toad, bloated as the aristocracy of old time, and puffed up as the plutocracy of to-day.

From He by Pollock, Walter Herries

The Subhanyo, a kind of whipsnake, and a large yellow rock snake called Got, are little feared.

From First Footsteps in East Africa by Burton, Richard Francis, Sir

The whipsnake, of a beautiful changing green, and the coral with alternate broad transverse bars of black and red, glide from bush to bush, and may be handled with safety; they are harmless little creatures.

From Wanderings in South America by Waterton, Charles

But when Alice just touched his hand in taking it from him, he wished it had been a whipsnake instead of a magpie.

From Recollections of Geoffrey Hamlyn by Kingsley, Henry