hoop snake ExamplesWord Origin noun
- any of several harmless snakes, as the mud snake and rainbow snake, fabled to take its tail in its mouth and roll along like a hoop.
Origin of hoop snake An Americanism dating back to 1775–85 Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019 Examples from the Web for hoop snake Historical Examples of hoop snake
Thought you might like to know the chu-wugg turned into a hoop-snake this morning!
Evelyn E. Smith
I confess I was deceived in—I won’t say that man, but that hoop-snake.
William Henry Venable
I heard an old hunter say he once stood by a lone tree on the prairie and saw a hoop-snake come rolling toward the tree.
The Scrap Book, Volume 1, No. 6
Various
British Dictionary definitions for hoop snake hoop snake noun
- any of various North American snakes, such as the mud snake (Farancia abacura), that were formerly thought to hold the tail in the mouth and roll along like a hoop
Collins English Dictionary – Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012