Snuffleupagus

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proper noun

A fictional character from the television series Sesame Street, resembling a woolly mammoth without tusks, who until the show's 17th season was only visible to Big Bird.

Scrabble 22

Meanings

proper noun

alternative Mr. Snuffleupagus

  1. A fictional character from the television series Sesame Street, resembling a woolly mammoth without tusks, who until the show's 17th season was only visible to Big Bird.

    “I feel like I’m dating Snuffleupagus.”

    2002, William J. Cobb, The White Tattoo
    4 more examples

    CFIDS, even bigger than a medical giraffe, is almost like Sesame Street’s elusive giant puppet Snuffleupagus—witnessed only by believers.

    2000, Peggy Munson, Stricken: Voices from the Hidden Epidemic of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

    Like Big Bird’s Snuffleupagus, Ryan’s “girlfriend” is vividly described, but never seen.

    2001, Ryan Bigge, A Very Lonely Planet: Love, Sex and the Single Guy

    No sooner than Didomenico would say “Bill?!” his stout potbellied structure would lift out of its seat and turn to face the room, swaying with the grace and agility of Mr. Snuffleupagus.

    2004, Owen C. Bernard, The Abyss Beside My Driveway

    Ralph breathed into the phone like Mr. Snuffleupagus.

    2006, Brandilyn Collins, Violet Dawn

Origin

As a mammoth-like creature, he has a long trunk like an elephant's, which is called his snuffle.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

Snuffleupagus. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Snuffleupagus

MLA

“Snuffleupagus.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Snuffleupagus. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Snuffleupagus,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Snuffleupagus.

Source: Snuffleupagus on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.