snaggy 
snaggy (snag'i), a. [< min f/ 1 + -//'] 1- F' 1 '! 
of snags, (o) Knotty ; having jags or sharp protuber- 
ances ; full of short stumps or sharp points ; abounding 
with knots: as, u xmi.'/.'/.v tree; a snatjyij stick. 
His stalking steps are stayde 
Upon a snaggy oke. Spenier, F. Q., I. vii. 10. 
(6) Abounding in fallen trees which send up strong stubby 
branches from the bottum of the water so as to make navi- 
gation unsafe. 
We passed into xnayjy lakes at last. 
J. E. Hostner, Color-Guard, xii. 
2. Being or resembling a snag; snag-like. 
Just where the waves curl beyond such a point you may 
discern a multitude of blackened tnagmi shapes protrud- 
ing above the water. Harper's Mag., LXXVI. 7SS. 
3. Ill-tempered. [Prov. Eng.] 
An' I wur down i' tha mouth, couldn't do naw work an'all, 
Nasty an' Knaggy, an' shaaky, an' poonch'd my 'and wi' the 
hawl. Tennyson, Northern Cobbler, xiv. 
snag-tooth (snag'toth), . A long, ugly, irreg- 
ular tooth ; a broken-down tooth ; a snaggle- 
tooth. 
How thy snag-teeth stand orderly, 
Like stakes which strut by the water side. 
Cotgrave, Wits Interpreter (1671), p. 253. (Nares.) 
5724 
man snail. Marine snails, pulmonate gastropods of the 
old group Thalassophila. Ocean snails, the violet-snails 
or iinitliiiiidif. Open snail. Helix (Zonitcs) uamaeata, 
abundant in rockyplaces in England. - Periwinkle-snail, 
11 pulmonate gastropod of the family Amphibolid.se, resem- 
bling a peri winkle. See cut under Amptribula. Pheasant- 
snail, a pheasant-shell. Pygmy snail, 1'unctum miim- 
tum, a minute species found in England in wet places. 
Roman snail, the edible snail. - Salt-water snail, one 
of numerous marine gastropods whose shells are shaped 
like those of snails, as species of Xatica (or Lunatia), or Ne- 
rerita, or hiitmna, etc.; a sea-snail. Shell-less snail. 
Same as slug", 1. Silky Snail, Helix sericra, common 
on wet mossy rocks, especially in the west and south of 
England. Snail's gallop, a snail's pace; very slow or 
almost imperceptible movement. 
I see what haste you make ; you are never the for- 
warder, you go a snail's gallop. 
Bailey, tr. of Colloquies of Erasmus, I. 6U 
Snail's pace, a very slow pace. Snakeskin-snail, u 
tropical American snail of the genus Solarinpsis. Tooth- 
ed snails, those Helicidir whose aperture has a tooth or 
teeth, as of the genus Tridopsis. White snail, (a) Va- 
lonia pulchella, of which a ribbed variety has been de- 
scribed as V. costata. [Eng.) (b) A snail-bore: an oyster- 
men's name for various shells injurious to the beds, as the 
drills or borers, particularly of the genera Urosalpinx and 
Nalica. See snail-bore. Zoned snail, Helix mnjata, pro- 
Projecting canines or snag teeth are so common in low 
faces as to be universally remarked, and would be oftener 
seen did not dentists interfere and remove them. 
Amer. Anthrop., III. 316. 
snail (snal), n. [Early mod. E. also snayle; dial. 
snile; < ME. snaile, snayle, snile, snyle, snele, < 
AS. tl snxgel,snxgl,snegel,snegl=M.iiG.sneil,iiG. 
Large-shelled, Edible, 
(Helix pontatfa), 
J/ r ', Oj DlLOlLL, 111'. Ou BtUOll * I ( t |M[li^ I Millie. Oi 111- 
tle reptile, dim. of a simpler form represented 
by snag 3 , from the same root as AS. snaea, a 
snake: see snag 3 , snake.] 1. One of many 
small gastropods. 
Tak the rede snyle that crepis houseles and sethe it in 
water, and gedir the fatt that comes of thame. 
1HS. Line. Med., 1. 284. (Halliwell.) 
Specifically (a) A member of the family Helicidse in a 
broad sense ; a terrestrial air-breathing mollusk with 
stalks on which the eyes are situated, and with a spiral or 
helicoidshellwhich 
has no lid or oper- 
culum, as the com- 
mon garden-snail, 
Helix hortensis, or 
edible snail, H. po- 
malia. There are 
many hundred spe- 
cies, of numerous 
genera and several 
subfamilies. In the 
phrases below are 
noted some of the 
common British 
species which have 
vernacular names. 
See Helicidse, and 
cuts under Gastero- 
poda and Pidnw- 
nata. (b) A mollusk 
like the above, but 
shell-less or nearly 
so ; a slug, (c) An 
aquatic pulmonate gastropod with an operculate spiral 
shell, living in fresh water ; a pond-snail or river-snail ; a 
limneid. See Limniridte. (d) A littoral or marine not 
pulmonate, gastropod with a spiral shell like a snail's; a 
sea-snail.asaperiwinkleor any member of the Littorinidie 
a salt-water snail. 
Hence 2. A slow, lazy, stupid person. 
Thou drone, thou snail, thou slug, thou sot ! 
Shak., C. of E., ii. 2. 196. 
3f. A tortoise. 
There ben also in that Contree a kynde of Snayles that 
ben so grete that many persones may loggen hem in here 
Scnelles, as men wolde done in a litylle Hous. 
Mandeville, Travels, p. 193. 
4f. Milit., a protective shed, usually called tor- 
toise or testudo. 5. A spiral piece' of machin- 
ery somewhat resembling a snail; specifically, 
the piece of metal forming part of the striking 
work of a clock. See cut under snail-wheel. 
Q. In nwrtf., the cochlea of the ear. 7. pi. Same 
as snail-clover. Aquatic snails, pulmonate gastro- 
pods of the old group [jimnophtta. Bristly snail Helix 
hmjnda and its varieties, abounding in waste places'in the 
British Isles. Brown snail, (u) The garden or girdled 
Ui-i/Y Helucfwxa, delicate species peculiar to the 
British Isles, found in bushy places. -Carnivorous 
snails the TaUuxUUm. - Common snail, Helix a*perm 
It is edible, and in some places annual snail-feasts are 
held to eat it; it is also gathered in large quantities and 
sold as a remedy for diseases of the chest, being prepared 
by boiling in milk. [Eng.]-Edible snail, ffrf& ponuMa 
the Roman snail. See cut above. -Freshwater snails' 
the iimnstite.-Garden-snail, the brown or girdled 
""' ( ra moral ix (including the varieties described 
nthLl " rt S* "? H ' h 'J bridu )< common in England.- 
Glbbs S snail, Helix aaOaiima. found in Kent and Sur- 
rey, England : discovered by Mr. Gibbs in 1814 Girdled 
snail, the garden-snail. Gultweed-snails, the Litiopi- 
;~Heatn snail. See heath-mail. Kentish snail 
Helix cantmna.- Large-Shelled snaili the edible KS 
poi 
snail, violet-snail.) 
snail (snal), . [Early mod. E. also snayle; = 
Dan. snegle; from the noun.] I. intrans. To 
move slowly or lazily, like a snail. [Rare.] 
This sayd, shee trots on snayling, lyk a tooth-shaken old 
hagge. Stanihurst, JEneid, iv. 689. 
II. trans. To give the form of a snail-shell 
to; make spirally winding. [Rare.] 
God plac't the Ears (where they might best attend) 
As in two Turrets, on the buildings top, 
Snailing their hollow entries so a-sloap 
That, while the voyce about those windings wanders, 
The sound might lengthen in those bow d Meanders. 
Sylvester, tr. of Du Bartas s Weeks, i. 6. 
snail-bore (snal'bor), n. A gastropod, as a 
whelk, etc., which bores oysters or injures oys- 
ter-beds; a borer; a drill. They are of numer- 
ous different genera. Urosalpinx einerea is 
probably the most destructive. [Local, U. S.] 
snail-borer (snal'b6r"er), n. A snail-bore. 
snail-clover (snal'kl6"ver), n. A species of 
medic, Medicago scutellata, so called from its 
spirally coiled pods. The name is also applied to the 
lucern, M. mtim, and sometimes extended to the whole 
genus. Also snails, snail-plant, and snail-trefoil. 
snailery (snal'er-i), . ; pi. snailerien (-iz). [< 
snail + -cry."\ A place where edible snails are 
kept, reared, and fattened to be used for food. 
The numerous continental maileries where the apple- 
snail is cultivated for home consumption or for the mar- 
ket St. James's Gazette, May 28, 1886. (Kncyc. Diet.) 
snail-fish (snaTfish), n. A fish of the genus 
Liparis : so called from their soft unctuous 
feel, and their habit of adhering to rocks by 
means of a ventral sucker. Several species which 
Snail-fish ^Ltptins tintata). 
(Lower figure shows the sucker between the pectoral fins.) 
commonly receive the name are found in Great Britain, 
as L. hneata and L. montagui. They are also called sea- 
snail and sucker. See Liparididse. 
snail-flower (snal'flou'er), H. A twining bean, 
Pliaseolus Caracalla, often cultivated in tropical 
gardens and in greenhouses for its showy white 
and purple fragrant flowers. The standard and 
the long-beaked keel are spirally coiled, sug- 
gesting the name. 
snail-like (snal'lik), . Like a snail in moving 
slowly; snail-paced. 
snail-pace (snal'pas), . A very slow move- 
ment. Compare snaiVs gallop, snail' 'space, un- 
der snail. 
snail-paced (snal'past), a. Snail-like in pace 
or gait; creeping or moving slowly. 
Delay leads impotent and snail-paced beggary 
Shale., Rich. III., iv. 3.53. 
snail-park (snal'park), n. A place for raising 
edible snails ; a snailery. Good Housekeeping, 
III, __., 
snail-plant (snal'plant), n. Snail-clover, par- 
ticularly Medicago scutellata and M. Helix. 
snake 
'snailst (smllz). interj. An old minced oath, an 
abbreviation of I/is (Christ's) nails (with which 
he was nailed to the cross). 
'Snails, I'm almost starved with love. 
Beau, and FL, Wit at Several Weapons, v. 1. 
snail-shell (snaTshel), ii. A shell secreted by 
liny snail or terrestrial pulmoniferous gastro- 
pod. 
snail-slow (snal'slo), . As slow as a snail; 
extremely slow. Sliak., M. of V., ii. 5. 47. 
snail-trefoil (snal'tre"foil), n. Same as snail- 
clorer. 
snail-water (snal'wa"ter), ii. An old remedy. 
See the second quotation. 
And to learn the top of your skill in Syrrup, Sweetmeats. 
Aqua mirabilis, and Snayl water. Shadwell, The Scowrers. 
Snail-water . . . was a drink made by infusing in water 
the calcined and pulverized shells of snails. 
-V. and Q., 7th ser., II. 234. 
snail-wheel (snal'hwel), n. In horol., a wheel 
having its edge cut into twelve ir- , ~ t^ 
regular steps arranged spirally in ^jj 
such a manner that their positions *^ 
determine the number of strokes 
which the hammer' makes on the 
bell; a snail. The snail is placed snail-wheel. 
on the arbor of the twelve-hour wheel. E. U. 
Knif/}it. 
snaily (sna'li), o. [< snail + -!.] Resembling 
a snail or its motion ; snail-like. 
O how I do ban 
Him that these dials against walls began, 
Whose snaily motion of the moving hand, 
Although it go, yet seem to me to stand. 
Drayton, Of His Lady's Not Coming to London. 
snake (snak), . [< ME. snake, < AS. snaca (per- 
haps orig. snaca) (L. scorpio) = Icel. sndkr, snokr 
= Sw. snok = Dan. snog = MD. MLG. snake, 
a snake; lit. 'creeper,' derived, like the relat- 
ed snag 3 and snail, from the verb seen in AS. 
snican (pret. "sniic. pp. *snicen), creep, crawl: 
see sneak. Cf. Skt. ndga, a serpent, (it. reptile 
and serpent, also from verbs meaning 'creep.'] 
1 . A serpent ; an ophidian ; any member of the 
order Ophidia. See serpent and Opliidia. 
So, roll'd up in his den, the swelling snake 
Beholds the traveller approach thebrake. 
Pope, Iliad, xxil. 130. 
2. Specifically, the common British serpent 
Coluber or Tropi- 
donotus natrix, or 
Xatrix torqtiata, 
a harmless ophid- 
ian of the family 
Colubridee: dis- HM<I< 
tinguished from 
the adder or riper, a poisonous serpent of the 
same country. This snake is widely distributed in Eu- 
rope, and attains a length of 3 feet or more. It is now 
sometimes specified as the common or ringed make, in 
distinction from the smooth snake (Coronella tens). 
3. A lizard with rudimentary limbs or none, 
mistaken for a true snake : as, the Aberdeen 
snake (the blindworm or slow-worm); a glass- 
xiiake. See snake-lizard, and cuts under amphis- 
hxna, Mindworm, dart-snake, glass-snake, scJiel- 
topusik, and serpent/form. 4. A snake-like 
amphibian : as, the Congo snake, the North 
American Amphiuma means, a urodele am- 
phibian. See Ampttiuma. 5. A person having 
the character attributed to a snake ; a treach- 
erous person. 
If thou seest 
They look like men of worth and state, and carry 
Ballast of both sides, like tall gentlemen, 
Admit 'em ; but no makes to poison us 
With poverty. Beau, and Fl., Captain, i. 3. 
6f. In the seventeenth century, a long curl at- 
tached to the wig behind. 7. The stem of a 
narghile. 8. See snake-box. 9. A form of re- 
ceiving-instrument used in Wheatstone's auto- 
matic telegraph. [Colloq.]- Aberdeen snake. See 
def. 3. Austrian snake, a harmless colubrine of Europe, 
Coronella Iseris, also called smooth make. Black and 
white ringed snake. See Vermicella. Black snake. 
See black-snake and Scotophii. Brown snake, Haldea 
striatula of the southern United States. Cleopatra's 
snake, the Egyptian asp, Xaja haje, or, more properly, 
the cerastes. See cuts under <>p and cerastes. Coach- 
whip-snake Bascanion (or Masticophis) flayelliform-ti. 
See Masticophis, and cut under black-snake. Common 
snake. Seedef. 2. [British.] Congo snakes, the family 
Amphiumidie. See def . 4. - Dwarf snake. See dwarf. 
Egg-snake, one of the king-snakes, Ophibolus sayi. 
Gopher-snake. Same as gopher, 4. Grass-snake, (a) 
Same as ringed make. (6) Same as green-snake, (c) Same 
as garter-make. Green snake. See green-snake. Har- 
lequin snake. See harlemdn. Hog-nosed snake 
See hognose-snake and Heterodon. Hooded snake. See 
hooded. House-snake. Same as chain-snake. Indi- 
go snake, the gopher-snake. Innocuous snakes, all 
snakes which are not poisonous, of whatever other char- 
acter ; Jnnocua.- King snake, (a) See king- make, (b) 
The harlequin snake. Large-scaled snake, Uoplo- 
of Snake l.Vafrix torgtn 
showing forked tongue. 
