From earlier snag (“stump or branch of a tree”), from Middle English *snagge, *snage, from Old Norse snagi (“clothes peg”) (compare Old Norse snag-hyrndr (“snag-horned, having jagged corners”)), perhaps related to *sneganą, *snakaną (“to crawl, creep, wind about”) if the original meaning of the root *sneg- was more like “pointy object, stinging creature”. Note also *snakkōną (“to snap at, smack the lips; to blow”) (German schnacken (“to chat”)) and English sneck, snatch.
Compare Norwegian snag, snage (“protrusion; projecting point”), Icelandic snagi (“peg”). Also see the Dutch-origin fish names snoek and snook.
Meanings
A stump or base of a branch that has been lopped off; a short branch, or a sharp or rough branch.
The coat of arms / Now on a naked snag in triumph borne. 1697, Virgil, “The Ninth Book of the Æneis”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC:
A dead tree that remains standing.
A tree, or a branch of a tree, fixed in the bottom of a river or other navigable water, and rising nearly or quite to the surface, by which boats are sometimes pierced and sunk.
[…]I watched for sunken stones; I was learning to clap my teeth smartly before my heart flew out, when I shaved by a fluke some infernal sly old snag that would have ripped the life out of the tin-pot steamboat and drowned all the pilgrims;[…] 1899 (please specify the page), Joseph Conrad, “The Heart of Darkness”, in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, volume CLXV, New York, N.Y.: The Leonard Scott Publishing Company, […], →OCLC, part:
‘A’most used-up I am, I do declare!’ she observed. ‘The jolting in the cars is pretty nigh as bad as if the rail was full of snags and sawyers.’ 1842 December – 1844 July, Charles Dickens, The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit, London: Chapman and Hall, […], published 1844, →OCLC:
(broadly) Any sharp protuberant part of an object, which may catch, scratch, or tear other objects brought into contact with it.
A tooth projecting beyond the others; a broken or decayed tooth.
To ſee our Women's Teeth look white. / And ev'ry ſaucy ill-bred Fellow / Sneers at a Mouth profoundly yellow. / In China none hold Women ſweet, / Except their Snags are black as jett. 1718, Mat[thew] Prior, “Alma: Or, The Progress of the Mind”, in Poems on Several Occasions, London: […] Jacob Tonson […], and John Barber […], →OCLC, canto II, page 354:
(figuratively) A problem or difficulty with something.
we hit a snag
The snag in this business of falling in love, aged relative, is that the parties of the first part so often get mixed up with the wrong parties of the second part, robbed of their cooler judgment by the parties of the second part's glamour. 1960, P[elham] G[renville] Wodehouse, chapter XII, in Jeeves in the Offing, London: Herbert Jenkins, →OCLC:
Scarcity of outstanding content viewed as snag for unproved and highly priced Vision Pro device[.] 2024 July 13, Tim Bradshaw, Michael Acton, “Apple’s headset faces struggle to gain attention of developers and end users”, in FT Weekend, London: The Financial Times Ltd., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 12:
ja ほつれ (pulled thread or yarn) · de Haken (problem or difficulty) · fr chicot (tooth projecting beyond the rest) · es siete (stump or base of a branch) · hu akadály (problem or difficulty) · fr hic (problem or difficulty) · es jirón (pulled thread or yarn) · hu nehézség (problem or difficulty) · gd duilgheadas (problem or difficulty) · es árbol muerto en pie (a dead tree that remains standing) · nb ulempe (problem or difficulty) · ang wearn (problem or difficulty) · fr chicot (tree fixed in the bottom of a river or other navigable water) · sk zádrheľ (problem or difficulty) · ota بوداق (stump or base of a branch) · gd staing (problem or difficulty) · cs potíž (problem or difficulty) · fr chicot (stump or base of a branch) · fa سرشاخه (stump or base of a branch) · es rasgón (stump or base of a branch) · fr couac (problem or difficulty) · be карча́к (tree fixed in the bottom of a river or other navigable water) · es intrígulis (problem or difficulty) · ru коря́га (tree fixed in the bottom of a river or other navigable water) · sv hake (problem or difficulty) · de Baumstumpf (tree fixed in the bottom of a river or other navigable water) · es pega (problem or difficulty) · ang wirn (problem or difficulty) · de Aststumpf (stump or base of a branch) · cs háček (problem or difficulty) · hu kiálló rész (hegyes) (sharp protuberant part of an object) · ru топля́к (tree fixed in the bottom of a river or other navigable water) · hu bütyök (sharp protuberant part of an object) · es siete (pulled thread or yarn) · hu bökkenő (problem or difficulty) · hu csonk (stump or base of a branch) · de Problem (problem or difficulty) · mi kātara (sharp protuberant part of an object) · ru коря́га (stump or base of a branch) · be корч (tree fixed in the bottom of a river or other navigable water) · fi langanpää (pulled thread or yarn) · ab и́ҵху ахџы́џ (stump or base of a branch) · de Aststummel (stump or base of a branch) · hu baj (problem or difficulty) · it intoppo (problem or difficulty) · ang hremmung (problem or difficulty) · fr aspérité (stump or base of a branch) · sk hrboľ (sharp protuberant part of an object) · be карча́жына (tree fixed in the bottom of a river or other navigable water) · hu gond (problem or difficulty) · fi ulkoneva hammas (tooth projecting beyond the rest) · bg изваден конец (pulled thread or yarn) · mi taitā (tree fixed in the bottom of a river or other navigable water) · ja 些細なトラブル (problem or difficulty) · fr pépin (problem or difficulty) · fr accroc (problem or difficulty) · fi oksantynkä (stump or base of a branch) · ab ада́ц шамоу (stump or base of a branch) · fr andouiller (one of the secondary branches of an antler) · ru препя́тствие (problem or difficulty) · sk suk (stump or base of a branch) · de Zahnstumpf (tooth projecting beyond the rest) · uk корч (tree fixed in the bottom of a river or other navigable water) · bg стърчащ/счупен зъб (tooth projecting beyond the rest) · pl tylec (stump or base of a branch) · fr accroc (pulled thread or yarn) · pl sęk (stump or base of a branch) · cs zádrhel (problem or difficulty) · sk výčnelok (sharp protuberant part of an object) · fi uppotukki (tree fixed in the bottom of a river or other navigable water) · es roto (pulled thread or yarn) · ru загво́здка (problem or difficulty) · it albero morto in piedi (a dead tree that remains standing) · de springender Punkt (problem or difficulty) · izh hako (a dead tree that remains standing) · sv krux (problem or difficulty) · fi pulma (problem or difficulty) · de Fadenzieher (pulled thread or yarn) · es desgarrón (pulled thread or yarn) · sv stötesten (problem or difficulty) · bg сухо дърво (a dead tree that remains standing) · bg неочаквано препятствие (problem or difficulty) · pl odrostek (one of the secondary branches of an antler) · sv aber (problem or difficulty)
From earlier snag (“stump or branch of a tree”), from Middle English *snagge, *snage, from Old Norse snagi (“clothes peg”) (compare Old Norse snag-hyrndr (“snag-horned, having jagged corners”)), perhaps related to *sneganą, *snakaną (“to crawl, creep, wind about”) if the original meaning of the root *sneg- was more like “pointy object, stinging creature”. Note also *snakkōną (“to snap at, smack the lips; to blow”) (German schnacken (“to chat”)) and English sneck, snatch.
Compare Norwegian snag, snage (“protrusion; projecting point”), Icelandic snagi (“peg”). Also see the Dutch-origin fish names snoek and snook.
Meanings
(transitive) To catch or tear (e.g. fabric) upon a rough surface or projection.
Be careful not to snag your stockings on that concrete bench!
(transitive) To damage or sink (a vessel) by collision; said of a tree or branch fixed to the bottom of a navigable body of water and partially submerged or rising to just beneath the surface.
The steamboat was snagged on the Mississippi River in 1862.
(transitive) To fish by means of dragging a large hook or hooks on a line, intending to impale the body (rather than the mouth) of the target.
We snagged for spoonbill from the eastern shore of the Mississippi River.
(slang, transitive) To obtain or pick up, especially in a quick or surreptitious way.
Your upcoming Instagram beach photos are begging you to snag this bright orange maxi. BEGGING. Like, oof! Do you see that high slit? 10/10. No notes. 2023 June 16, Megan Uy, “25 Absolutely Gorgeous Crochet Clothing Pieces You Won’t Stop Wearing This Summer”, in Cosmopolitan:
Ella snagged a bottle of water from the fridge before leaving for her jog.
Tickets are cheaper the younger you are—snag a youth ticket (if you're twenty-five or under) for a 35 percent discount. If both you and your travel partner are twenty-six or older, the Small Group Saver will knock off 15 percent. 2017, Off Track Planet's Travel Guide for the Young, Sexy, and Broke:
(UK, dialectal) To cut the snags or branches from, as the stem of a tree; to hew roughly.
When felled and snagged, one end of the tree is placed upon a small sledge, and dragged out of the bush by oxen 1846, Sir Richard Levinge, “Echoes from the Backwoods”, in The New Monthly, volume 76:
(intransitive, qualifier:Native American, slang) To have noncommittal sexual relations.
Shit, I remember when you were just rugged, bro. Snagging around and tepee-creeping at the stomp dance. 2021 September 20, “Satvrday”, in Reservation Dogs, spoken by Big:
cs natrhnout (to catch or tear) · cs roztrhnout (to catch or tear) · es atorar (to catch or tear) · hu beleakad (to catch or tear) · nl ritsen (to catch or tear) · ja 破ける (to catch or tear) · uk перехо́плювати (slang: to pick up) · cs zachytit (to catch or tear) · ja ひっかける (fishing: to fish by means of dragging a large hook or hooks on a line) · de sich schnappen (slang: to pick up) · hu kiszakít (to catch or tear) · bg закачам се (to catch or tear) · mi hiwi (fishing: to fish by means of dragging a large hook or hooks on a line) · ja ほつれる (to catch or tear) · es enganchar (to catch or tear) · uk перехопи́ти (slang: to pick up) · hu akaszt (to catch or tear) · hu felsért (to catch or tear) · cs zachytit se (to catch or tear) · hu (to be snagged) akad (to catch or tear) · cs zatrhnout (to catch or tear) · fr accrocher (to catch or tear) · pl zadrzeć (to catch or tear) · ja 裂ける (to catch or tear) · cs roztrhnout se (to catch or tear) · ja さっかける (fishing: to fish by means of dragging a large hook or hooks on a line) · de ergattern (slang: to pick up) · cs natrhnout se (to catch or tear) · ja さびく (fishing: to fish by means of dragging a large hook or hooks on a line) · es trabar (to catch or tear)
The Australian National Dictionary Centre suggests that snag as slang for "sausage" most likely derives from the earlier British slang for "light meal", although it makes no comment on how it came to be specifically applied to sausages.Meanings and origins of Australian words and idioms The word's use in football slang originates as a shortening of "sausage roll", rhyming slang for "goal", to sausage, and hence, by synonymy, snag.
Meanings
(UK, dialectal, obsolete) A light meal.
(Australia, colloquial, informal) A sausage.
I fire up the barbie and start cooking snags. 2005, Peter Docker, Someone Else′s Country, ReadHowYouWant, published 2010, page 116:
‘Hungry? We′ve got plenty of roo,’ one of the men said as she walked up. He pointed with his spatula, ‘and pig snags, cow snags, beef and chicken.’ 2010, Fiona Wallace, Sense and Celebrity, page 25:
‘You can get the chooks and snags from the fridge if you want,’ he replied.
I smiled, remembering my bewilderment upon receiving exactly the same command at my very first barbecue back in Sydney a month after I′d first arrived. 2007, Jim Ford, Don't Worry, Be Happy: Beijing to Bombay with a Backpack, page 196:
(qualifier:Australian rules football, slang) A goal.
2003, Greg Baum, "Silver anniversary of a goal achieved", The Age
"It just kept coming down and I just kept putting them through the middle," he said. "I got an opportunity, and I kicked a few snags."
Mediadates offers handy tips for online dating virgins and a list of popular abbreviations used in website chatrooms. So you can tell a shag from a "Snag" - sensitive new age guy. 2006 September 22, Jason Deans, “Single white media male. GSOH …”, in The Guardian:
Over time, the ‘sensitive’ aspect of the SNAG has become paramount. 1999, Anthony McMahon, Taking Care of Men: Sexual Politics in the Public Mind, Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 103:
Naturally, the Frat Boy and the Toadmeister decided to hold a contest to see who could “drop the hammer” with Pippi first. Chris’s strategy was to pretend to be a “snag” (Sensitive New Age Guy) in the hope of appealing to her alternative side. 2008 [2001], Toby Young, How to Lose Friends and Alienate People, Philadelphia, PA: Da Capo, →ISBN, page 76: