SNICKERSNEE: What is a SNICKERSNEE?

A large knife.

If we ever come across this word now, it’s most probably in the lyrics of Gilbert and Sullivan’s comic opera The Mikado: “As he squirmed and struggled, / And gurgled and guggled, / I drew my snickersnee!”

A couple of centuries earlier it was not a single word but a phrase, steake or snye, which was also written as stick or snee, snick or snee, snick-a-snee, or in other ways. All these versions go back to a couple of Dutch words, steken, to thrust or stick, and snijden, to cut. We have exactly the same phrase, though inverted, made from native English words: cut and thrust. The phrases referred to a type of hand-to-hand fighting with pointed knives, or — by the end of the eighteenth century — to the knife one did it with.

It was fairly common in Victorian Britain, and appeared several times in works by William Makepeace Thackeray, for example in his Burlesques: “Otto, indeed, had convulsively grasped his snickersnee, with intent to plunge it into the heart of Rowski; but his politer feelings overcame him. ‘The count need not fear, my lord,’ said he: ‘a lady is present.’ ” It seems certain that Lewis Carroll had it in mind when he wrote Jabberwocky: “One, two! One, two! And through and through / The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!”

Source : Here

11 invented meanings:

Sandra Dodd said...

Snickersnee is a victorian term for dirty jokes told about seaside resorts. They would being like "Once in Bridlington..." or "When we were in Brighton..."and you know it's going to be scurrilous.
4:45 PM
sprite said...

Snickersnee describes something that's so surprising or funny that it causes you to snarf (snort your drink out your nose).
5:54 PM
PinkyPanz said...

A snickersnee is a type of lolly that when you put it in your mouth it bursts out the flavour if you suck on it really hard. It comes in four different flavours, lime, raspberry, chocolate, marshmellow. You can chew on them or just suck on them. You can blow a bubble with it, (but I wouldn't advise it, the bubbles can get pretty big, and even lift you off the ground!)
12:03 AM
Ju's little sister said...

Snickersnee is a modern evolution of the saying: "Snicker? Nay!"

Once a colloquial term it was used by theatre-goers who were trying to impress and be posh by not smiling or laughing at a comedy.

"I'm just back now from A Midsummer Night's Dream."
"Was it a worthy play?"
"Oh a Snicker? Nay!"

Nowdays the pronounciation has been blurred into 'snickersnee' and refers to a comedy one might rent from the video shop and then find it's not funny at all.
"I heard good things about 'Dumb and Dumber' but it was a bit of a snickersnee really."
1:47 AM
silver_flight said...

This is a medical term for excessive pressure on the leg joints caused by eating too much chocolate...
1:58 AM
Thinks! said...

In the UK snickersnees refers to american tourists def:born in the land of the Snicker bar. In the UK the same bar was known as a Marathon. Thus the Britsh were known as Marathonees. Since being renamed Snickers in the UK sales have suffered as we are not so keen to purchase a confection which sounds like underwear; i.e. knickers!


tgw44.blogspot.com
2:05 AM
Greedy Biscuit Baron said...

A Snickersnee is the name for a moderately rare bird, prized for its ornate plumage. It is only found in and around Kuala Lumpur and lives off grubs found in the muddy river of the Gombak.

Its name derives (as with many birds) from its call, which sounds like a strange combination of a chortle, followed very quickly by a high pitched sneeze.

The Snickersnee's feathers are a luminous green on the underside and bright coral pink with white ripples when viewed normally.
Many people use their feathers as decoration, often inter-twining them into necklaces or hair ornaments, and believe the plumage from a Snickersnee to bring prosperity, happyness and laughter......and protection from colds and sneezes.

There we have it... the Snickersnee
2:15 AM
auntibeck said...

Snickersnee is short for "sneeze in the midst of a great chuckle."

Judi was snickering whilst reading her fellow Wordimp's definitions and manicly dreaming up her own definition, when a sudden sneeze gathered and burst upon her. Her snickersnee took her completely by surprise and no definition was forthcoming after that!
9:50 AM
The Encourager said...

A snickersnee is a covering used by hair stylists to keep a new hair do in place.
10:21 AM
Sonnjea B said...

A snickersee is a racing skiff with a single hull, usually crewed by a 2-person team, that can reach speeds in excess of 25 miles per hour when sailing under a spinnaker.
10:49 AM
LivelyClamor said...

A snickersnee is a big scary green monster with red warts who hides behind curtains in children's bedrooms at night, sneaks out in the middle of the night, and makes scritching noises to wake them up. Sometimes they make crackling rubbing sounds right next to a kid's ear. Snickersnees tend to have awful senses of humor and laugh at any little kid that wakes up scared.

Source : Here