snake in the grass
A hidden enemyA hidden enemy.
» Watch out—that guy is a real snake in the grass.
Смотри в оба: этот парень — просто змея подколодная. — odexed
kemushi69 · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FRMeaning
1 senses(derogatory, informal)A hidden enemy.
- a deceitful or treacherous person
Examples
5 sentencesWatch out—that guy is a real snake in the grass.
ruСмотри в оба: этот парень — просто змея подколодная. — odexed
Her new husband turned out to be a snake in the grass.
deEs stellte sich heraus, dass ihr neuer Ehemann ein Gauner war. — kitab
Ziri found a snake in the grass.
The snake was coiled in the grass, hidden from view.
I don't trust him at all - he's a snake in the grass, always looking out for himself.
Origin
Calque of Latin latet anguis in herbā (literally “a snake hides in the grass”), from EclogCalque 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.
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
plural: snakes in the grass| Singular | snake in the grass |
|---|---|
| Plural | snakes in the grass |
irregular
Synonyms
1 synonyms- a deceitful or treacherous person:snake
See also
neighbours in the dictionaryDictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.