snout

Everyday

1. A snout is the long nose and mouth part that sticks out at the front of some animals' faces, such as pigs, dogs, crocodiles and anteaters. tree →
2. (informal, joking or rude) A snout can mean a person's nose. tree →

In the lessons

In science lessons snouts come up in adaptations: a pig's snout digs for food, an anteater's long snout reaches into ant nests, a crocodile's snout shape shows what it eats. In stories and descriptions «snout» helps describe an animal's face. «To have your snout in the trough» (UK, informal) means to be greedy for money or rewards.

Examples

• The pig dug in the mud with its snout. tree →
• The anteater pushed its long snout into the ant nest. tree →
• The dog sniffed the ground with its wet snout. tree →
• A crocodile's snout is long and narrow. tree →
• The hedgehog's snout twitched as it smelled a worm. tree →
• «Keep your snout out of my business!» snapped the troll. tree →
• She bethought herself of her father’s words, and, pulling out her pocket handkerchief, she gently wiped the Pig’s snout and kissed it. tree →

Note

Plural «snouts». Countable. Calling a person's nose a snout is rude or jokey. Similar words: «muzzle» (a dog's nose and mouth), «beak» (birds), «trunk» (elephants).

In Jewish tradition

It is the nose of a pig, an unclean animal in Jewish law.

Interpretation. Proverbs uses the picture to say that beauty without good sense is as out of place as a gold ring on a pig. Its mention of swine also reminds readers of the pig's unclean status.

Examples

• As a ring of gold in a swine's snout, so is a fair woman that turneth aside from discretion. (Writings PRO.11.22, JPS 1917) tree →

Note

Plural «snouts». Countable. Calling a person's nose a snout is rude or jokey. Similar words: «muzzle» (a dog's nose and mouth), «beak» (birds), «trunk» (elephants).