snapdragon

Meaning

Noun

• Any plant of the genus Antirrhinum, with showy yellow, white or red flowers.
• A game in which raisins are snatched from a vessel containing burning brandy, and eaten; the substance snatched and eaten during the playing of the game; the vessel used for the game.

Related

Similar words

• dragon flower
• flapdragon

Origin

• (1570s) From snap + dragon, from children pretending that the flower is a dragon that opens its "mouth" when squeezed on the sides. For the parlour game sense, the 1704 Swift quotation is apparently the earliest appearance in print.