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Glite Dictionary
son of a snake

son of a snake

9.9
A person who lies or cheats and cannot be trusted
  • idiom
  • Offensive
translation icon : canalla
  • She warned me that he was a son of a snake and not to trust him.

Examples

  • I can't believe that son of a snake tried to sabotage our project.

  • Don't be such a son of a snake!

  • After stealing the money, everyone called him a son of a snake behind his back.

  • He is a real son of a snake for lying to us.

  • He is a real son of a snake for lying to us.

  • I can't believe that son of a snake tried to sabotage our project.

  • She warned me that he was a son of a snake and not to trust him.

Synonyms

son of a bitch
vsson of a snake
  • Offensive
665 9.9

A rude word for a person who is cruel or very annoying

is used chiefly to accuse someone of being deceitful or untrustworthy
snake
vsson of a snake
  • Offensive
121 8.1

A person who lies to others and cannot be trusted

is an insult that specifically targets deceit and untrustworthiness
slimeball
vsson of a snake
  • Offensive
11 8.2

A person who lies and cannot be trusted

is an insult that focuses more narrowly on deceitful behaviour
bad egg
vsson of a snake
  • Offensive
5 5.6

A person who cannot be trusted and may lie or steal

is a stronger, more direct insult for the same untrustworthy trait
snake in the grass
vsson of a snake
  • Offensive
5 8.1

A person who pretends to be friendly but secretly harms or tricks you

is a blunt insult used for persons showing deceit or untrustworthiness
son of a whore
vsson of a snake
  • Offensive
4 9.9

A very rude name people use to show strong anger or dislike toward someone

is less vulgar and concentrates on calling someone deceitful or untrustworthy
scummer
vsson of a snake
  • Offensive
1 9.9

A person who lies or cheats and treats others badly

is aimed specifically at calling out deceit or lack of trust
cambion
vsson of a snake
  • Offensive
9.9

An insulting name for a cruel or troublesome person

is used for deceitful or untrustworthy people rather than broad wickedness

Antonyms

honest
∞ 1.0

Truthful and fair, not cheating or lying

trustworthy
88 2.1

A person or thing you can depend on to be honest

Surface Forms

son of a snake singular
sons of a snake plural

Morphology

son + of + a + snake

The insult meaning is a metaphorical extension of 'snake' (a deceitful person) combined with the 'son of' insult pattern, so the overall sense can be inferred if the learner recognizes 'snake' as a negative human trait. However, this requires awareness of the figurative use of 'snake' and the cultural insult pattern, so the relation is not purely compositional and may not be immediately predictable to all B1 learners.

Etymology

Son of a snake may come from the image of the snake as quiet, sneaky and dangerous. People imagined someone 'born from' a snake as not to be trusted, so today the phrase calls someone 'deceitful' or 'untrustworthy'.