snake in the grass

Calque of Latin latet anguis in herbā (literally “a snake hides in the grass”), Virgil, Eclogue III, v. 93.

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snake in the grass (plural snakes in the grass)

1. (informal) A hidden enemy.

   Synonym: backstabber

   • 1906, Horatio Alger, Randy of the River, ch. 6:

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

   • 1914, William MacLeod Raine, A Daughter of the Dons, ch. 5:

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

   • 1973, Charlie Daniels, "Uneasy Rider":

     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.

   • 2008 Nov. 21, Bruce Crumley, "Which Woman Will Lead France's Socialists?," Time:

     Following her presidential defeat, 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.

• grass snake

• “snake in the grass”, in Collins English Dictionary.
• “snake in the grass”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary
• “a snake in the grass” (US) / “a snake in the grass” (UK) in Macmillan English Dictionary.
• “anguis in herba”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary