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rat snake
noun
- any of several New and Old World colubrid snakes, of the genus Elaphe, that feed chiefly on small mammals and birds.
rat snake
noun
- any of various nonvenomous rodent-eating colubrid snakes, such as Elaphe obsoleta of North America and Ptyas mucosus of Asia
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Word History and Origins
Origin of rat snake1
First recorded in 1855–60
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Example Sentences
All the roofs of the thatched bungalows swarm with rats, and in every house is kept a rat-snake, which kills and eats these rats.
From Project Gutenberg
A friend informs us that he once saw in these gardens a rat-snake of Ceylon devour a common Coluber natrix.
From Project Gutenberg
There is a belief in Ceylon that the bite of the rat-snake, though harmless to man, is fatal to black cattle.
From Project Gutenberg
A person should postpone an errand on which he is starting, if he sees a cobra or rat-snake.
From Project Gutenberg
One the great serpent would select, would lap in scaly coils, crush to a red pulp and swallow as a rat-snake swallows a mouse.
From Project Gutenberg
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