1. Home
2. Idioms
3. snake in the grass

snake in the grass

---

---

snake in the grass

One who feigns friendship with the intent to deceive. Did you hear that Daria's best friend stole money from her bank account? What a snake in the grass.

See also: grass, snake

snake in the grass

a sneaky and despised person. How could I ever have trusted that snake in the grass? John is such a snake in the grass.

See also: grass, snake

snake in the grass

A treacherous person, as in Ben secretly applied for the same job as his best friend; no one knew he was such a snake in the grass . This metaphor for treachery, alluding to a poisonous snake concealed in tall grass, was used in 37 b.c. by the Roman poet Virgil ( latet anguis in herba). It was first recorded in English in 1696 as the title of a book by Charles Leslie.

See also: grass, snake

snake in the grass

n. a sneaky and despised person. How could I ever have trusted that snake in the grass?

See also: grass, snake