snake in the grass

English

WOTD – 4 March 2024

Etymology

Calque of Latin latet anguis in herbā (literally “a snake hides in the grass”), from Eclogue III by the Roman poet Virgil (traditionally 70 – 19 B.C.E.). Compare Dutch addertje onder het gras.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈsneɪk ɪn ðə ˈɡɹɑːs/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈsneɪk ɪn ðə ˈɡɹæs/

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɑːs, -æs

Noun

snake in the grass (plural snakes in the grass)

1. (derogatory, informal) A hidden enemy.

   Synonym: backstabber

   • 1906, Horatio Alger, Jr., “The Iron Works Affair”, in Randy of the River: Or The Adventures of a Young Deckhand (Rise in Life Series), New York, N.Y.: Grosset & Dunlap, →OCLC, page 57:

     The trouble is, I trusted him too much from the start. He has proved to be a snake in the grass.

   • 1914, William MacLeod Raine, “‘An Optimistic Guy’”, in A Daughter of the Dons: A Story of New Mexico To-day, New York, N.Y.: G. W. Dillingham Company, →OCLC, page 71:

     Is he not here to throw us out—a thief, a spy, a snake in the grass?

   • 1973 June, Charlie Daniels (lyrics and music), “Uneasy Rider”, performed by Charlie Daniels, New York, N.Y.: Kama Sutra Records, →OCLC:

     He's a snake in the grass, I tell you guys / He may look dumb but that's just a disguise / He's a mastermind in the ways of espionage.

   • 1978, John Irving, “The World According to Marcus Aurelius”, in The World According to Garp […] (A Henry Robbins Book), New York, N.Y.: E[dward] P[ayson] Dutton, →ISBN, pages 271–272:

     We were playing in Dallas, when that snake in the grass—Eight Ball, everyone called him—came up on my blind side …

   • 2008 November 21, Bruce Crumley, “Which Woman will Lead France’s Socialists?”, in Time‎^[1], New York, N.Y.: Time Warner Publishing, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2012-01-16:

     Following her presidential defeat, [Ségolène] Royal stunned many observers by publicly dumping Socialist Party leader François Hollande – her companion and the father of her four children – and announcing she'd seek his post during the current election. To some, that made Royal the symbol of the strong, modern woman in politics; to others, it cast her as the classic snake in the grass.

Translations

hidden enemy — see backstabber

See also

• fifth column
• grass snake

Further reading

• “a snake in the grass” (US) / “a snake in the grass” (UK) in Macmillan English Dictionary.
• “snake in the grass”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
• “anguis in herba”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.