hoop snake

hoop snake ExamplesWord Origin noun

1. 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!

Once a Greech

Evelyn E. Smith

I confess I was deceived in—I won’t say that man, but that hoop-snake.

A Dream of Empire

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

1. 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