Rattlesnake
['ræt(ə)lsneɪk] or ['rætlsnek]
Definition
(noun.) pit viper with horny segments at the end of the tail that rattle when shaken.
Typist: Remington--From WordNet
Definition
(n.) Any one of several species of venomous American snakes belonging to the genera Crotalus and Caudisona, or Sistrurus. They have a series of horny interlocking joints at the end of the tail which make a sharp rattling sound when shaken. The common rattlesnake of the Northern United States (Crotalus horridus), and the diamond rattlesnake of the South (C. adamanteus), are the best known. See Illust. of Fang.
Editor: Verna
Unserious Contents or Definition
n. Our prostrate brother Homo ventrambulans.
Typed by Gwendolyn
Examples
- He was a prim-faced, red-nosed man, with a long, thin countenance, and a semi-rattlesnake sort of eye--rather sharp, but decidedly bad. Charles Dickens. The Pickwick Papers.
- And looking for a nice pair of rattlesnakes, to articulate for a Museum--when I was doomed to fall in with her and deal with her. Charles Dickens. Our Mutual Friend.
Editor: Upton