snapdragon

plural snapdragons · alternative snap dragon · alternative snap-dragon

1. countableAny plant of the genus Antirrhinum, with showy yellow, white or red flowers.

   2000, Margaret Roberts, Edible & Medicinal Flowers, New Africa Books (The Spearhead Press), page 72, The snapdragon is indigenous to Europe and has been a much loved garden plant since before the Middle Ages, when it was considered an antidote against witchcraft.

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   […]of kitchen-gardens, and straight herb-borders, and warm snap-dragon beset by bees;

   1908 October, Kenneth Grahame, “Toad's Adventures”, in The Wind in the Willows, New York, N.Y.: Charles Scribner’s Sons, →OCLC, page 166

   Snapdragon leaves are asymmetrical with respect to dorsal-ventral surfaces (Fig. 6.6A).

   1998, Stephen H. Howell, Molecular Genetics of Plant Development, Cambridge University Press, page 146

   Modern snapdragons aren't usually grown for their scent, although some do smell slightly spicy.

   2006, Lynn Coulter, Gardening with Heirloom Seeds, University of North Carolina Press, page 59

   Synonyms: dragon flower

2. uncountableA 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.

   From the 16th to 19th centuries, no Christmas Eve celebration was complete without a hearty game of Snapdragon in the parlor.

   2014, Stephanie Barron, On Hosting Your Regency-Era Christmas Party, Soho Press, page 13

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   He bore a ſtrange kind of Appetite to Snap-dragon, and to the livid Snuffs of a burning Candle, which he would catch and ſwallow with an Agility, wonderful to conceive; [...]

   1704, [Jonathan Swift], “Section XI”, in A Tale of a Tub. […], London: […] John Nutt, […], →OCLC, page 198

   "And now for snap-dragon," said Marian. "Exactly as you predicted, Mr. Graham," said Madeline; "blind-man's buff at a quarter past three, and snap-dragon at five."

   1862, Anthony Trollope, Orley Farm, Chapman and Hall, published 1868, page 159

   2014, Sabrina Jeffries, When Sparks Fly, Simon & Schuster (Pocket Star Books), unnumbered page, "I hope we play snapdragon," eight-year-old Timothy Metcalf said. "I wish we could," Ellie said, "but I doubt Papa will allow it. He'll say snatching raisins from a burning bowl of brandy is too dangerous." "But snapdragon is a Christmas tradition!" protested Percy.

   Synonyms: flapdragon