joint snake
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
Noun: * A legless lizard: "joint snake" refers to a specific type of lizard, Ophisaurus attenuatus, found in parts of North America. It is not a true snake but resembles one due to its elongated, limbless body. * Glass lizard: This is the more common name for the creature. It is known for its extremely long, fragile tail, which can break off easily as a defense mechanism. * A reptile with regenerative ability: A defining characteristic is its ability to regenerate its tail after it has been broken or shed.
Usage Examples
- Noun:
- While hiking, we spotted a joint snake slithering through the leaf litter.
- The joint snake is often mistaken for a snake, but it has movable eyelids and external ear openings.
- A key survival trait of the joint snake is its ability to lose and regrow its tail.
Advanced Usage
- "like a joint snake": Used figuratively to describe something that is fragile or easily broken into segments.
- The old, dry rope snapped like a joint snake's tail.
Variants and Related Words
- Glass lizard (n): The most common synonym for "joint snake."
- Slender glass lizard (n): A more precise variant name.
- Ophisaurus (n): The scientific genus name for these lizards.
- Regenerate (v): To grow back or renew, as the lizard does its tail.
Synonyms
- Glass lizard
- Slender glass lizard
- Legless lizard
Related Idioms
- To have a glass jaw: While not directly about the lizard, this boxing idiom shares the metaphorical concept of being fragile or vulnerable to breakage, similar to the lizard's fragile tail.
Noun
- snakelike lizard of Europe and Asia and North America with vestigial hind limbs and the ability to regenerate its long fragile tail