snap-back 
<liirt<;r-back ; also, the center nish.-r. See 
(snap'be'tl), . Same as <//,/.- 
snap-block (snap'blok), . Same as g,,aM<- 
snap-bolt (snap-bolt ), ii. A self-acting bolt or 
latch ; a catch which slips into its place and fas- 
tens a door or lid without the use of a kev 
snap-bug (snap'bug), M. A click-beetle. FU.SI 
snap-cap (snap'kap), n. A very small leather 
cylinder, with a metal top, fitting closely to the 
nipple of a percussion-musket, for protecting 
the nipple from the action of the hammer 
snap-cracker (snap'krak'te), n. Same as snap- 
jack. 
snapdragon (snap'dragon), n. 1. A plant of 
the genus Antirrhinum, especially the common 
garden-flower A. majus and its varieties, it is 
an herb from one to three feet high, bearing showy crim- 
son, purple, white, or variegated flowers In sp ken The 
name is suggested by the mask-like corolla, Thence al 
numerous provincial names, such mcalf-mottt or calm'- 
snout Iwn^mouth, rabbits-mouth, /roys-mouth etc The 
SXwmwO The' Bouthenl Eur P e - . ( s e cut B under 
thl e r.?Hf P l a 'i t ' A -^ cioeum - nne plant from islands' olf 
?,. , n , ," ' h "? recelved some notice under the 
name if Gambel snapdragon. A. mauraiulioides is a cul- 
tivated vine, better known as Mara IU Ua. Various spec es 
of Linana, especially L. mdgaris, the common toad-t 
so named ; also several other plants w 
5737 
Snap-jack isnap'jak), ii. A species of stitch- 
wort,<StoUarta ///./,. sc, culled from its brit- 
tle stem. Also called tnappers, nap^raeker 
and OMtpVOrt. ll,;!!,,, and //:,II,, H ,I, Kng. Plant 
Names. [ 1'rov. Kng.] 
Snap-link (siiap'lingk). . An open link 
Snap-link. 
2. A sport in which raisins or grapes are snap- 
ped from burning brandy and eaten. 
The wantonness of the thing was to see each other look 
hpfr a ,it e Ti!'-' f ? e ( V UI ; nt u el, and snatched out 
the fruit, 1 his fantastical mirth was 
called snap-dragon. 
Steele, Tatler, No. 85. 
3. A glass-makers' tongs. Ja- 
maica snapdragon. See Kmllia. 
Snapdragon, 3. 
snape (snap), . t. ; pret. and pp. snapcd, ppr. 
snaping. [Origin obscure.] In ship-buildiiui, 
> bevel the end of (a timber or plank) so 
that it will fit accurately upon an inclined sur- 
face. 
snape (snap), , [< snape, .] The act or pro- 
cess of snaping. 
snap-flask (snap'flask), n. A founders' flask, 
made m two parts connected bv a butt-hinge 
and secured by a latch. 
snaphance (snap'hans), n. and a. [Early mod. 
E. also snaphauncc; < D. snaphaan (= MLG. 
snaphane, LG. snapphaan), a sort of flint-lock 
gun, lit. 'snap-cock,' < gnappen, snap, + haan, 
cock: see hen 1 . The name is found earlier in 
an appar. transferred use: MD. snaphaen, an 
armed horseman, freebooter, highwayman, a 
vagabond, D. snaphaan, a vagabond, = MLG. 
sna/>hane, a highwayman (> G. schnapphahn, a 
robber, footpad, constable, = Sw. smtpphane = 
Dan. snaphane, a highwayman, freebooter); 
hence also, in MD. and MLG., a coin having as 
its device the figure of a horseman.] I. n. 1. 
A spring-lock of a gun or pistol. Narcs. 
I would that the trained bands were increased, and all 
reformed to harquebusiers, but whether their pieces to be 
with firelocks or smphaumes is questionable. The flre 
lock is more certain for giving flre, the other more easy 
* or use. Ba rl. M^ _ l v . 275. 
Hence 2. A hand-gun or a pistol made to be 
fired by flint and steel. In the sixteenth and seven- 
teenth centuries unaphances were distinguished from fire- 
locks, the latter being preferred as late as about 1620, at 
which time the former were greatly improved. 
In the meantime, Captain Miles Standish, having a 
snaphance ready, made a shot, and after him another. 
A. Young, Chrou. Pil., quoted in Tyler's Amer. Lit., 1. 161. 
3. A snappish retort ; a curt or sharp answer ; 
a repartee. [Rare.] 
Old crabb'd Scotus, on th' Organon, 
Pay'th me with map/iaunce, quick distinction. 
Marston, Scourge of Villanie, iv. 
Il.t a. Snappish; retorting sharply. [Rare.] 
I, that even now lisp'd like an amorist, 
Am turn'd into a sna-phaunee Satyrist, 
Marstan, Satires, ii. 
snap-head (snap'hed), . 1. A riveters' swa- 
ging-tool, used in forming the rounded head of 
a rivet when forged into place. 2. A rounded 
head of a rivet, bolt, or pin. E. H. Knight. 
Snap-hook (snap'huk), n. 1. A metal hook 
having a spring-mousing or guard for prevent- 
ing an eye, strap, or line caught over it from 
slipping off. Such hooks are made in many forms : one 
of the best has a spring-bolt that meets the point of the 
hook, and is so arranged that the latter cannot be used 
unless the bolt is drawn back by means of a stud on the 
shank. See snap-link. 
2. A fish-hook which springs and catches when 
the fish bites ; a spring-hook. There are many 
varieties. 
by a spring, used to connect chains, parts of 
snap-lock (snap'lok), . A lock that shuts with- 
out the use of a key. 
snap-machine (snap'ma-shen*), . An appa- 
ratus used by bakers "for cutting a sheet of 
dough into small cakes called snaps ; a cracker- 
machine. 
snap-mackerel (snap'mak'e-rel), H. The blue- 
nsh, J'omatomtis saltatrix. " 
snapper 1 (suap'er), n. [< map + -?i-l.] <>,. 
who or that which snaps, in any sense, gpecifl- 
Sn ft^rfti '* H h , 8 V ap , 8 up HM**k ; one who takes 
up stealthily and suddenly ; a thief. 
Who being, as I am.littered under Mercury, was likewise 
a mapper-up of unconsidered trifles. Shot., W. T. , | v . 3. 26 
(o) A cracker-bonbon. Dames. 
And nasty French lucifer mappers with mottoes 
Barham, Ingoldsby Legends, II. 276. 
(c) The cracker on the end of a whip.lash ; figuratively a 
smart or caustic saying to wind up a speech or discourse 
T "i 1 ^. 8 ? not put that "PP-on the end of my whip-lash 
tithwis roToked wlthout the U1 te ">P- which iny an- 
0. W. Holmes, The Atlantic, LXVI. 667. 
(d) A fire-cracker or snapping-cracker. (e) A snapplng- 
JS5fe (/) A "'PPlng-turtle. (n) One of various fishes: 
(l)inesnap.mackerelorblueflsh, Pumatmnussaltatrix See 
cut under Uueftsh. (2) The rose-flsh, redflsh, or hemdurgan 
Sebastes mannm. See cut under Sebastes. I Nova Scotia] 
3) A sparoid fish of the subfamily Lutjanirue. They are 
large, handsome fishes, of much economic value uLutja- 
nMrnnsortrriseut thorny. MM,*, ot PfMMOto nUMt^ 
L. blackfordl or rneanus, the red snapper; Rhomb,^ilile 
snare 
i, a large and ferocious turtle of the 
I mtcd States: so called fro,,, th,. w .-iv it snaps 
us to bite; a snapper. I, , , ,, 
rivers and streams of North Am.-u,-;.. and attains a arge 
M poaodTln 
*hL IttfoodconaliU chiefly of B&, ,|,ells 
but not u,,fi.:,|ii..ntly jn.-l,,d,. ,1,,,-ks un.l ,,tl,,-r water^ 
fowl. II .has un~.il ic-Nii.-it) . savage and 
I": h "(,:,. |, , ,,,(, 
mwk,-t and its n,:i, , s erteemed ).\ many, tliu K li it j 
?-'r",;,"!i n ' U J "' u '" k '' ""'':/<"<"- 
snappish (snap' ish), a. [< */j + -,w,i.] j. 
l(< ady or apt to snap or bite: as, a */,;>/< 
cur. 2. Sharp in reply; apt to speak angrily 
ortartly; tart : erkbbed; also, proceeding 
a sharp temper or from anger; also, ehiding- 
scolding; faultfinding. 
Snappuhe askyng. We doo aske oftentymet because 
wee would knowe; we doo ske also because wee would 
chide, and set forth our grief with more vchemencie. 
Wilton, Klietorike. 
Some silly poor souls be so afraid that at every mau- 
pah word their nose shall be bitten off that they stand in 
M" l.'s dread of every quick and sharp word than he that 
Is bitten of a mad dug feareth water. 
Sir T. More, Utopia, Ded. to Peter Giles, p. 12. 
He was hungry and tnappuh ; she was hurried and crosa. 
Whyle Mflrillt, White ROM, I. vil. 
= Syn.2. Touchy, testy, crusty, petulant, pettish, sple- 
snappishly (snap'ish-li), nth-. In a snappish 
manner; peevishly; angrily; tartly. 
"Sit down, I tell you," said old Featheretone, ntan- 
fwhly. " Stop where you are." 
George Kliot, Mlddlemarch, mil. 
snappishness (snap'ish-nes), M. The charac- 
ter of being snappish; peevishness; tartness, 
snappy (snap'ij, a. [< snap + -yl.] 1. Snap- 
pish. ^ [Rare.] 2. Having snap or "go." 
[U. 8.] 
It [lacrosse] is a game well-suited to the American 
taste, being short, mappy, and vivacious from beginning 
to finish. Tribune Book o/ Sportt, p. 
Florida Red Snapper (Luljanut 
aurorubens, the bastard snapper or mangrove-snapper. All 
these occur on the Atlantic coast of the United States, 
chiefly southward. The red snapper, of a nearly uniform 
rose-red color, is the most valuable of these it is caught 
in large numbers off the coast of Florida, and taken to all 
the principal northern markets. The gray snapper is of 
a greenish-olive color, with brown snots on each scale and 
a narrow blue stripe on the cheek. There are also Malayan 
and Japanese snappers of this kind, called Mjang, the 
source of the technical name of the genus. (A) In ornith. : 
(1) 1'he green woodpecker, Qecinusviridis. See cut under 
popinjay. [Prov. Eng.] (2) One of various American 
flycatchers (not Musricapidx) which snap at flies, often 
with an audible click of the beak ; a flysnapper See cut 
under fit/snapper, (t) pi. Castanets. 
The instruments no other then snajipers, gingles, and 
round bottom'd drums, born upon the back of one, and 
beaten upon by the followers. Sandys, Travalles, p. 133. 
Black snapper, a local name of a form of the cod Oadus 
morrhua, living near the shore. 
snapper-back (snap'er-bak), H. In foot-ball, a 
center rusher. See rusher^. 
Neither the snapper-back nor his opponent can take the 
ball out with the hand until it touches a third man. 
Tribune Book of Sports, p. 128. 
snappers (snap'erz), . Same as snap-jack. 
snapping-beetle (snap'ing-be'tl), . A snap, 
snapper, or snap-bug; a click-beetle; a skip- 
jack; an elater: so called from the way they 
snap, as to both the noise and the movement. 
See cut under click-beetle. 
Snapping-bng (snap'ing-bug), . Sameasximyj- 
. 
snapping-cracker (snap'ing-krak'er), . A 
fire-cracker. [U. 8.] 
snapping-mackerel (snap'ing-mak'e-rel), . 
The snap-mackerel or bluefish. See mackerel 1 . 
snapping-tongs (snap'ing-tdngz), n. See the 
quotation. 
Snapping-tmtfft, a game at forfeits. There are seats In 
the room for all but one, and when the tongs are snapped 
all run to sit down, the one that fails paying a forfeit. 
HaUiwett. 
snapping-tool (snap'ing-tel), . A stamp used 
to force a metal plate into holes in a die. 
E. H. Knifiht. 
snapping-turtle (snap'ing-ter'tl), . The alli- 
gator-terrapin or alligator-tortoise, Chelydra 
snaps 1 (snaps), n, [Cf. snap.] In coal-mining, 
a haulage-clip. [Midland coal-field, Eng.] 
snaps 2 (snaps), 11. Same as schnapps. 
snapsack (snap'sak), n. [< G. schnapp-sack. 
< schnappen, snap, + sack, sack: see snap and 
MM*. Cf. knapsack, gripsack.'} Same as knap- 
sack. [Obsolete or colloq.] 
While we were landing, and fixing our Snap-sadrt to 
march, oar Moskito Indians struck a plentiful dish of Fish 
which we Immediately drest. Dumpier, Voyages, I. 7. 
snap-shooter (snap'sho'ter), n. A snap-shot; 
one who is skilled in snap-shooting, 
snap-shooting (snap'sho'ting), n. The practice 
of making snap shots. See snap, a. 
snapt (snapt). A spelling of snapped, preterit 
and past participle of snap. 
snap-tool (snap'tol), n. A tool used in forming 
rivet-points. It consists of a hollow cup of steel 
welded to a punch-head for striking upon, 
snapweed (snap'wed), n. See Impatiens. 
snapworkt (snap'werk), n. The lock and ap- 
purtenances of a snaphance or hackbut. 
Betwlit the third couple of towers were the butts and 
marks for shooting with a snap-work gun, an ordinary bow 
for common archery, or with a cross-bow. 
Urquhart, tr. of Rabelais, L 55. 
snapwort (snap'wert), n. Same as snap-jack. 
snart (snar),p. i. [Early mod. E. snarre; < MD 
snarren = MLG. snarren, snarl, scold, brawl, 
= MHG. snarren, G. schnarren, snarl, grate; 
cf. D. snorken = MHG. snarchen, G. schnarchen 
= Sw. snarka = Dan. snorke, snore : see sneer, 
snore, snork, snort. Cf. snarl 1 .'} To snarl. 
I snarre, as a dogge doth under a doore whan he sheweth 
hls t*' 06 - Palsgrave. 
And some of Tygres, that did seeme to gren 
And snar at all that ever passed bv. 
Spenter, K. Q., VI. xli. 27. 
snare (snar), n. (X ME. snare, < AS. *iear, a 
string, cord, = MD. snare, snaere, D. snaar = 
MLG. snare = OHG. snarahha. snaracha. snara. 
MHG. snar, a string, noose, = Icel. Sw. snara = 
Dan. snare, a noose, snare, gin; from a strong 
verb preserved in OHG. MHG. snerhan, snerhen, 
bind tightly (cf. Icel. snara (weak verb), turn 
quickly, twist, wring) ; Teut. ^snarh, Indo-Eur. 
V/ snart, draw together, contract, in Gr. vapun, 
cramp, numbness (see narcissus); perhaps an 
extended form of / snar, twist, bind, in Lith. 
nirli, thread a needle, draw into a chain, L. ner- 
riis = Gr. veiipov, a sinew, nerve : see nerrt . Con- 
nection with D. snoer = MLG. snor =OHG. MHG. 
Htiunr, G. Hchnur, acord, band, rope, = Icel. xna-ri 
(for snteri = Sw. snore = Dan. snor), a twisted 
string, = Goth, snorjo, basket, woven work, and 
with the related AS. snod, E. snood, and Olr. 
snathe, snath, a thread, L. nere, spin, Skt. sntisd, 
