joint snake
- noun
- US
:
lagarto vidrioso
- When threatened, a joint snake can shed its tail to escape predators, later growing it back.
Examples
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The joint snake is actually a harmless legless lizard, not a true snake at all.
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In some rural legends, people believed that a joint snake could come back to life if its severed pieces were placed together.
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The joint snake is often mistaken for a snake.
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Did you know the joint snake can regenerate its tail?
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In some rural legends, people believed that a joint snake could come back to life if its severed pieces were placed together.
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The joint snake is actually a harmless legless lizard, not a true snake at all.
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When threatened, a joint snake can shed its tail to escape predators, later growing it back.
Synonyms
1
9.2
A legless lizard that looks like a snake, has eyelids and ear openings, and can grow its tail again
A legless lizard with a long tail that breaks off and regrows to escape predators
An animal like a lizard but without legs that looks like a snake
Surface Forms
Morphology
The constituent 'snake' clearly signals an animal, and 'joint' (a point of joining) gives a loose hint that the term relates to joining or a detachable/reattachable part, so a learner might guess something about a snake that can join or has a joint. However the specific sense — a legless lizard (not a true snake) with folklore about reattaching its tail — is rare and not fully predictable from the parts, making the expression only partially transparent to a B1 learner.
Etymology
The noun joint snake comes from old stories: people thought if you cut a snake into pieces the parts would 'join' and 'come back to life', so it was called joint snake. In reality it is a legless lizard that can drop and grow its tail, and that strange ability helped the story and the name.