| 释义 |
▪ I. snag, n.1|snæg|
Also 6–7 snagge, 8–9 snagg.
[prob. of Scand. origin: cf. Norw. dial. snag sharp point, projection, stump, spike, etc., also snage in the same senses = Icel. snagi peg. The stem is also found in OIcel. snag-hyrndr, said of an axe having a sharp point. For the retention of g in the English word cf. flag n.2]
1. a. A short stump standing out from the trunk, or from a stout branch, of a tree or shrub, esp. one which has been left after cutting or pruning; † also, a fruiting spur.
1577–87Holinshed Chron. (1808) IV. 644 Artificiallie made gates raised of ragged staues, and vpon euerie snag stood a small wax candle burning. 1596Spenser F.Q. iv. vii. 7 In his hand a tall young oake he bore, Whose knottie snags were sharpned all afore. 1623Camden Rem. (1637) 420 An Ewtree with the Berries, and a great N. hanging upon a snag in the midst of the tree. 1674J. Josselyn Voy. New Eng. 138 They make their..fire near to a great Tree, upon the snags whereof they hang their kettles. 1731Miller Gard. Dict. s.v. Ribes, These Plants produce their Fruit..also upon small Snags which come out of the old Wood. 1791W. Bartram Carolina 89 Old weather-beaten trees, hoary and barbed, with the long moss hanging from their snags. 1811–in many dialect glossaries. 1859Delamer Flower Gard. 167 Above all, do not leave a long snag to die down to the bud. 1898Card Bush Fruits 363 The top being cut down in spring and the snag removed afterward.
fig.1824Blackw. Mag. XV. 177, I shall make each of these important topics a head, or rather a snag, in my Pastoral Calendar. 1857Fraser's Mag. LVI. 357 A man who has many crotchets..must be a conglomeration of snags and snarls.
b. A trunk or large branch of a tree imbedded in the bottom of a river, lake, etc., with one end directed upwards (and consequently forming an impediment or danger to navigation). orig. U.S.
1807P. Gass Jrnl. 31 About 12 one of the periogues run against a snag which broke a hole in it. 1817–8Cobbett Resid. U.S. (1822) 294 The wheels are made to work in the stern of the boat, so as not to come in contact with the floating trees, snaggs, planters, &c. 1877H. Dixon Diana iii. iii, A snag, jammed in the stony bed, throws up a jet of water.
c. fig. An impediment or obstacle. Also, a disadvantage, a hitch; a defect.
1830Galt Lawrie T. iv. ix, I guess he's a snag in the Devil's way. 1886Pall Mall G. 4 Aug. 3/1 Our extradition treaty with the United States has run up against its first snag, to use an expression familiar on the Mississippi. 1891C. Roberts Adrift Amer. 8, I was continually running against some snag in the shape of an unwritten law. 1903N.Y. Times 20 Oct. 1 A conference lasting three hours took place which was plain sailing until the last moment, when a snag was struck. 1923Wodehouse Inimitable Jeeves vi. 66 At this point the scenario struck another snag. 1936W. H. Saumarez Smith Let. 26 Dec. in Young Man's Country (1977) ii. 48 The only snag..was that Grindlay's had failed to send my tickets to the U.S. Club. 1940Economist 27 Jan. 142/2 Mr Gandhi referred to the ‘undoubted snags’ in Lord Linlithgow's statement, but a pre-requisite to tackling the ‘snags’ is a better spirit and some measure of confidence. 1945C. H. Ward-Jackson Piece of Cake 56 Snag, aircraft defect. 1950J. Cannan Murder Included iii. 39 The house would be all right; the snag would be the skivvies. 1962Daily Tel. 19 Nov. 22/5 (heading) Bonn Air Force finds snags in U.S. plane. 1977B. Pym Quartet in Autumn v. 44 There had been a good deal of discussion..as to whether he should go by coach or by train and the advantages and snags of each method were endlessly weighed up.
d. N. Amer. A standing dead tree.
1904Dialect Notes II. 421 There was a big snag with a woodpecker's nest in it south of our house. 1936Sun (Baltimore) 1 Aug. 11/1 Flames..have turned more than 30,000 acres of once-green forest into charred and smoldering snags. 1946B. MacDonald Egg & I 94 Incredibly tall, spindly snags leaned threateningly towards me. 1960M. Sharcott Place of Many Winds i. 14 The sun touched the hills behind us, lighting the dead white snags that so liberally sprinkled the live spruce. 1975Islander (Victoria, B.C.) 8 June 16/1 Osprey will choose a nest site atop a dead snag from which he can command a view of the habitat around him.
2. a. A sharp, angular, or jagged projection.
1586Bright Treat. Melancholy xxvi. 149 The rowels of the neckbone with their snagges hinder that inclination. 1611Cotgr., Barbelé,..full of snags, snips, iags. 1692Ray Disc. ii. ii. (1732) 102 Hailstones..like great pieces of Ice with several Snags or fangs issuing out of them. 1757Wilkie Epigoniad ii. (1769) 28 A ponderous mace..with snags around Of pointed steel. 1799E. King Mun. Antiqua I. 105 They [stone arrow-heads]..have snaggs, or as they are called beards on each side. 1817Kirby & Spence Entomol. xxi. (1818) II. 220 The legs, as well as the head, having their little snags and knobs. 1863Baring-Gould Iceland 103 Blowing snags and splinters [of lava] into cairnlike heaps all around.
b. A broken piece or stump of a tooth; a large or unshapely tooth.
1612Woodall Surg. Mate Wks. (1653) 11 Crowes bils..are only used to take hold of any snag of a tooth. 1676Poor Robin's Intell. 4 Apr. 1/2 As old folks when they have but a snag or two left pass for Children. 1717Prior Alma ii. 428 In China none hold Women sweet, Except their Snags are black as Jett. 1792Wolcot (P. Pindar) Wolves, Bear, etc. Wks. 1812 III. 74 It is the wish of many a beast, That you consent your teeth may all be pull'd; Damn me, if I would lose my snags, my Lords. 1825–in many dial. glossaries (esp. of south-western counties). 1829Landor Imag. Conv. Wks. 1853 I. 375/2 Their old snags will stick tight in them till they rattle in the coffin.
c. A tine or branch of a deer's horn, spec. one which is short or imperfectly developed.
1673Ray Journ. Low C. 27 The Horns have no Brow-Antlers, but only a broad palm with several Snags upon it. 1842Brande Dict. Arts s.v. Deer, The points between the notches are developed into long branches or snags, of which a single antler sometimes sends off as many as fourteen. 1872Nicholson Palaeont. 437 This extraordinary..species..having horns which have a snag in front.
3. dial. A rent or tear, such as is made by a sharp projection.
1854A. E. Baker Northampt. Gloss., Snag, a rent at right angles.
4. attrib. and Comb., as snag-toothed adj., snag-voyage; snag-boat, -pruning, -scow (see quots.).
a1661B. Holyday Juvenal (1673) 138 What smith then toils so hard? Or who, that wool with snag-tooth'd wire does card? 1823E. Moor Suffolk Words s.v. Snags, That mode of pruning which leaves the snags is called snag-pruning, in distinction from close pruning. 1832Reg. Deb. Congress U.S. (1833) 3 May 2722 The snag boat had been employed in improving the navigation of the Mississippi. 1851Eliza Cook Jrnl. VI. 100 A snag voyage up the yellow Missouri for some 400 miles, is no joke. 1858Simmonds Dict. Trade, Snag-boat, a steam-boat fitted with an apparatus for removing snags, or obstructions to navigation in rivers. 1895Zangwill Master ii. vii, The grotesque snag-toothed hags in the crowd. 1907C. D. Stewart Partners of Providence xiii. 176 The white snag-scow..did keep the snags pulled out of the mouth of the Missouri anyway.
▪ II. snag, n.2 Now dial. and rare.
[Of obscure origin: cf. skeg n.2, scad2.]
A sloe.
1578Lyte Dodoens 719 The wilde Plummes are the least of al, and are called Slose, Bullies, and Snagges. 1611Cotgr., Prunelle, a Sloe, or Snag. 1825Jennings Obs. Dial. W. Eng. 70 Snags, small sloes. 1901Longm. Mag. Feb. 363 'Twere made o' nought but the snags what grows in the hedges.
attrib.1598Florio, Spino, a sloe tree, a black-thorne, a snag tree. 1617Holyoke Dict. Etymol., Spinus,..a blacke thorne, the snagge tree. 1893Wiltshire Gloss. 149 Snag⁓bush, Prunus spinosa, the Sloe.
▪ III. snag, n.3 dial. and rare.
[Later form or var. of sneg n. See also snag-greet.]
A snail.
1674Ray S. & E. Co. Words 77 A Snagge, a snail. Suss. [Hence in Kersey, Bailey, Grose, etc.] a1700B. E. Dict. Cant. Crew, Snaggs,..Snails. 1862Lower in Athenæum 30 Aug. 281 When my occasional gardener talks of the ravages of ‘them snags’ on a peach-tree.
▪ IV. snag, n.4 Austral. colloq.|snæg|
[Origin unknown: cf. Snag vb.2 and n.3 6 in E.D.D.; Snag n.1 2 in S.N.D.]
A sausage.
1941Baker Dict. Austral. Slang 68 Snags, sausages. 1949R. Park Poor Man's Orange 33 ‘Let's have sausages.’.. Good old snags. They were always there to be fallen back on. 1972Sunday Mail Mag. (Brisbane) 26 Mar. 13/1 The dog had an uncanny capacity for nicking in to the butcher's shop, snatching a snag and getting out again. 1980Bulletin (Sydney) 6 May 112/3, I make my own snags, my own pies and pasties. The Yanks love them after you've twisted their arms to try them.
▪ V. snag, v.1 Now dial.|snæg|
[perh. related to snag n.1, but the sense has more connexion with nag v.]
intr. To carp, cavil, sneer, nag. Also const. at. Hence ˈsnagging vbl. n.1
1554J. Bradford in Coverdale Lett. (1564) 326 You are one of hys liuely stones: be contente therefore to be hewen and snagged at. 1642D. Rogers Naaman 14 How much more then should ye beware of snagging and snarling at Gods secrets. Ibid. 291 Let us..be so farre from snagging or nipping of such, that rather we marke them for peculiar ones. 1806A. Douglas Poems 121 Sic snaggin' an' braggin' An' randy-beggar jaw. 1839Sir G. C. Lewis Gloss. Heref., To snag, to teaze, to repeat the same thing several times. 1866J. E. Brogden Prov. Lincs., Snag, to irritate or scold in an ‘aggravating’ manner.
▪ VI. snag, v.2|snæg|
[f. snag n.1]
1. trans.
a. In passive: To be caught, pierced, or damaged by a snag. Chiefly U.S., and esp. of river-steamers.
(a)1807P. Gass Jrnl. 229 One of our best horses got snagged to day, and was left here.
(b)1839De Quincey Milton v. Southey Wks. 1862 XI. 196 One does not altogether like being snagged by the Mississippi. 1850Lyell 2nd Visit U.S. II. 267, I after⁓wards learnt, that in the course of her voyage she was snagged. 1864Daily Telegr. 6 Apr., It is no light matter to be ‘snagged’ on a dark night in Virginia.
(c)1891C. Roberts Adrift Amer. 211 Feeling no pull I started to haul my line in, but found I was snagged.
b. fig. To occupy or block as with a snag; to impede, to inconvenience. Also with up.
1833Polit. Examiner (Shelbyville, Kentucky) 22 June 4/1, I will agree to be shot with a paper wadding if there ar' room enough in the whole clearing for a man of ordinary parts to stand on five minutes at a time, without getting snagged by some tape and cotton yarn dealer in the street. 1863W. Phillips Sp. iii. 38 A great mind, anchored in error, might snag the slow-moving current of society. 1929Hall & Niles One Man's War 131, I decided to try clipping the German's tail with my propeller or snag him in some way. 1962Guardian 19 Dec. 8/3 No place to work and insufficient funds..had snagged her. 1968C. Burke Elephant across Border v. 193 He was going to do whatever he could to snag things up.
2. a. To cut roughly, or so as to leave snags.
1811Willan in Archaeologia XVII. 158 Snag, to hew, or cut rudely with an axe, &c. 1812Henry Camp. agst. Quebec 24 Blazing the trees and snagging the bushes with our tomahawks. 1840Penny Cycl. XVIII. 216/2 Whether the branches..should be cut close to the stem at once,..or whether they should first be snagged.
b. To tear on or by a sharp projection.
1854A. E. Baker Northampt. Gloss. II. 258, I have snagged my gown. 189719th Cent. Feb. 242 My knicker⁓bockers and stockings were snagged to pieces by these hidden stumbling blocks.
3. To clear (a river, etc.) from snags.
1882Law Rep. 9 App. Cases 429, I got much useful information from him when snagging the river. 1889New York Times 21 July (Cent.), Both of these parties..are engaged in snagging the waterways.
4. N. Amer.
a. To catch, get hold of, grab, steal, pick up. colloq.
1895Dialect Notes I. 399 Snag, to steal. 1927Amer. Speech II. 278/1 Snag a pick up, get a free ride. Ibid., Snag the current, get the drift. 1930D. Runyon in Collier's 1 Feb. 44/2 There is plenty of trouble over Lillian snagging her Peke. 1941B. Appel in C. Grayson New Stories for Men 32 Red would snag a dollar or two out of me with a promise that I should take it out of his wages. 1946Mezzrow & Wolfe Really Blues xii. 226 You didn't come of age on the welfare, snagging butts out of the gutter. 1962J. Glenn in Into Orbit 221 Two sailors reached over with a shepherd's hook to snag the capsule. 1966L. J. Braun Cat who could read Backwards (1967) xiv. 160 I'll get to the club early and snag a quiet table. 1978J. Carroll Mortal Friends v. i. 503 Colman and Janet did not snag each other with their eyes at the mention of the Ritz.
b. Sport. To catch or field (a ball); to receive (a pass).
1942Berrey & Van den Bark Amer. Thes. Slang §679/5 Field a ball..snag the oval. 1968Washington Post 4 July c1/3 (caption) Mantle was safe as Ron Hansen's throw, after snagging a line drive by Andy Kosco, was a trifle tardy. 1977Time 30 May 40/2 In their place came players tailored to Big Bill's skills: quick, sure-handed guards to snag his crisp outlet passes and start the fast break rolling.
c. Angling. To catch (fish), spec. with a bare hook; to catch illicitly or improperly.
1946Richmond (Va.) Times-Dispatch 17 Mar. b11/2 When the herring are in in numbers, you snag a herring about every third or fourth attempt. 1960Washington Post 11 Mar. d5 Unbelievable as it may sound, the herring are so thick at the height of the run that simply jerking a bare hook through the water will snag fish. 1974Evening Herald (Rock Hill, S. Carolina) 18 Apr. 7/1 The largest striper of the first week of the 10 week-long derby went to Sumter's John Benenhaly who also used cut bait to snag a 26 pound, 8 ounce fish. 1979Globe & Mail (Toronto) 7 Feb. 5/6 His six-man patrol is fed up with those who snag fish illegally.
5. intr.
a. To strike a snag, to get caught on a projection or obstacle.
1866Harper's Mag. Nov. 810/1 A Mississippi steamer, that snagged and went down on ‘Yazoo Bend’. 1929W. Faulkner Sound & Fury 3 You snagged on that nail again. Cant you never crawl through here without snagging on that nail. 1970G. F. Newman Sir, You Bastard 262 He could neither see the thorn he had snagged on, nor the path by which to pull clear. 1976M. Machlin Pipeline lv. 559 The rock itself..was some seventy-five yards from the ship, which apparently had snagged on an underwater rock projection some hundred feet down.
b. Of a fabric: to be rendered imperfect by a pulled thread.
1970Which? Oct. 300/2 A few brands suffered slightly from pilling..and several of the Crimplene ones snagged.
6. The verb-stem in combinations, as (sense 4 c) snag-fishing, snag-hook, snag-line.
1936Sun (Baltimore) 8 July 8/6 They..charged all three with using snag lines and snag hooks with intent to do bodily harm to the aforesaid sturgeon. 1952B. Harwin Home is Upriver viii. 86 He could get an old gasboat somewhere, cheap, some fishhooks and lines enough for snag-fishing. Ibid. x. 99 Kip and Lenny fished: snaglines and bushlines. 1960Washington Post 11 Mar. d5 A snag hook is a huge treble hook which can be fished from either a rod or hand. Usually two or three are tied to a strong line (chalk line is a favorite), a singer is attached and the whole shebang is cast into the drink and retrieved in a series of short jerks.
Hence ˈsnagging vbl. n.2
1775in J. J. Henry Campaign against Quebec (1812) 53 The paths and carrying places we had sufficiently developed..by strong blazing and snagging of bushes. 1851A. O. Hall Manhattaner in N. Orleans 179 There may sometimes occur a snagging, or a fire, with perhaps a collision. 1874Rep. Vermont Board Agric. II. 550 The stumps are rotting, and it is nearly ready for the..work of snagging and bogging. 1880‘Mark Twain’ Tramp Abroad I. 83 He..had gone to bed, with his head filled with impending snaggings, and explosions, and conflagrations. 1960Washington Post 11 Mar. d5/1 They're [sc. herrings] caught mostly by dipnets and the gentle method known as snagging. 1980Outdoor Life (U.S.) (Northeast ed.) Oct. 56/2 Because Pacific Coast salmon die after spawning, snagging was introduced as a sporting way to harvest huge numbers of fish in a short time. |