Christopher Kimball, the founder and editor of Cook's Illustrated magazine, sends a monthly e-mail message to subscribers which contains country wit and wisdom -- not just stuff about food. In his most recent message, he included the following:
"Here's one from the country dictionary. Ever heard of snow snakes?
They are the swirling coils of snow that form behind a passing car."
I can safely say that I have never heard of snow snakes. You?
must be one of our hundred & thirty-seven (137) words for snow.
I've known about snow snakes for years, although I would describe them not as snow swirls forming behind passing cars, but as a particular shape of snow movement across the road. I've noticed them in front of my car - they are wavy lines of snow that move across the road with a sidewinder type of motion. It takes certain conditions of road, snow and wind to create proper snow snakes.
Never heard of snow snakes, but snow sharks were a real problem in Colorado. According to local lore, snow sharks would attack middle-aged males who were in the process of shoveling snow, causing muscle strains, backaches, and occasional heart attacks. They do not, however, attack females; no one knows why, but for this reason only women should shovel snow.
The absolute best defense against snow sharks is to turn on a football game on the television; the noise drives them away immediately. And, just in case there are any deaf ones around, the male who wishes to make certain there are no snow sharks near him should open up a beer and put some nacho chips out on the coffee table. Snow sharks HATE beer and nacho chips.
Sunball - Glossary Entry
Sunball. Balls of Snow which roll down a steep slope after sun action. the trail they leave is sometimes called a "Snow snake". ...
www.csac.org/Education/glossary/sunball.html
Snow snakes are what we called those nasty sneaky little critters that suddenly dart out of their snow burrows and grab the tip of your skis on what looked like a smooth easy run. After all it couldn't be my fault that I fell down on such an easy slope,
could it?
Instinctively, I would have guessed the word originated from a victim of a heavy winter cold who intended to say "snow flake"
Ted thanks for the anecdote. Is it yours? and if so I will give you full credit.
Isn't a snow shark also a dogfish