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View synonyms for snake in the grass

snake in the grass

noun

  1. a treacherous person, especially one who feigns friendship.
  2. a concealed danger.


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Word History and Origins

Origin of snake in the grass1

First recorded in 1690–1700
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Idioms and Phrases

A treacherous person, as in Ben secretly applied for the same job as his best friend; no one knew he was such a snake in the grass . This metaphor for treachery, alluding to a poisonous snake concealed in tall grass, was used in 37 b.c. by the Roman poet Virgil ( latet anguis in herba ). It was first recorded in English in 1696 as the title of a book by Charles Leslie.
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Example Sentences

She was an old snake-in-the-grass, too,—to use one of Papa's expressions.

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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