snipe hunt

snipe hunt
Snipe hunt
A snipe hunt is a situation in which someone is tricked into chasing after something that does not exist. The origin comes from a hazing ritual in which someone would be led into the field to catch snipe (an imaginary animal) in a sack while the other hunters pushed the snipe in that direction. The other hunters would in reality leave the hunter there and go on their way.

The small dictionary of idiomes. 2014.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • snipe|hunt — «SNYP HUHNT», noun. U.S. a prank played on a person by inviting him to a desolate place to hunt snipe with a group, none of whom turns up to join him …   Useful english dictionary

  • snipe|hunt|er — «SNYP HUHN tuhr», noun. a person who hunts snipe …   Useful english dictionary

  • Snipe hunt — Common snipe A snipe hunt, a form of wild goose chase that is also known as a fool s errand, is a type of practical joke that involves experienced people making fun of credulous newcomers by giving them an impossible or imaginary task. The origin …   Wikipedia

  • snipe hunt — noun an elaborate practical joke in which the unsuspecting victim hunts a snipe and is typically left in the dark holding a bag and waiting for the snipe to run into it in the South a snipe hunt is practically a rite of passage • Hypernyms:… …   Useful english dictionary

  • snipe hunt — 1. noun /ˈsnaɪpˌhʌnt/ A prank in which a gullible victim is sent off on a fruitless search for a nonexistent item. Syn: fools errand, wild goose chase 2. verb /ˈsnaɪpˌhʌnt/ …   Wiktionary

  • Snipe (disambiguation) — Snipe may refer to:*Snipe, several species of wading bird *Snipe (rapper), rap artist from New Orleans, Louisiana *Snipe (theatrical), during motion picture exhibition, may refer to a short announouncement trailer on behalf of the theater, or any …   Wikipedia

  • Hunt — may refer to:Hunting* Hunting, activity during which humans or animals chase prey * Collective reference to a group of hunters practicing such a hunt, especially with dogs, e.g. Berkeley Hunt ** Fox hunting * See also Hunting (disambiguation) for …   Wikipedia

  • Snipe — Snipe, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Sniped}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Sniping}.] 1. To shoot or hunt snipe. [Webster 1913 Suppl.] 2. To shoot at detached men of an enemy s forces at long range, esp. when not in action; often with at. [Webster 1913 Suppl.] {snipe …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • snipe at — Snipe Snipe, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Sniped}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Sniping}.] 1. To shoot or hunt snipe. [Webster 1913 Suppl.] 2. To shoot at detached men of an enemy s forces at long range, esp. when not in action; often with at. [Webster 1913 Suppl.]… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • snipe — [snīp] n. [ME snype < ON snipa (akin to Ger schnepfe) < Gmc * sneb , beak < base seen in SNIP, SNAP ] 1. pl. snipes or snipe any of various shorebirds (family Scolopacidae) with a long, slender, flexible bill used in probing for food,… …   English World dictionary

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”