snake dance
Americannoun
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any ceremonial dance, such as that of the Hopi or Chickasaw people, in which snakes or representations of snakes are handled or imitated by the dancers.
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a parade or procession, especially in celebration of a sports victory, in which the participants weave in single file in a serpentine course.
verb (used without object)
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to perform a snake dance.
noun
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a ceremonial dance, performed by the priests of the American Hopi Indians, in which live snakes are held in the mouth
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the swaying movements of snakes responding to a snake charmer
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a Hindu dance in which performers imitate such snake movements
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Etymology
Origin of snake dance
An Americanism dating back to 1765–75
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
There is just no way our puny little snake dance and locking arms blocks any of that.
From New York Times • Aug. 28, 2018
What he is referring to is the snake dance.
From The Verge • Apr. 20, 2016
Sheriff George Byers would block the road so the students could do a snake dance from the high school, through the Golden Bubble and back to the school.
From Washington Times • Jun. 26, 2015
I’m watching the snake dance from the balcony of a shabby tenement built during the long rule of Tito, Yugoslavia’s late strongman, whose death in 1980 was the beginning of its gradual and violent breakup.
From Slate • Sep. 5, 2014
The boys looked at displays of Indians doing a snake dance, Indians weaving baskets, grinding corn, weaving rugs, playing games—or just standing, being Indians.
From Jerry's Charge Account by Geer, Charles
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.