# What does ‘a snake in the grass’ mean?

To “a snake in the grass” means to a hidden, treacherous person or danger. Brewer's traces the phrase to Virgil's Eclogues (III.93): 'latet anguis in herba' — a snake lurks in the grass.

## What it means

- Brewer's traces the phrase to Virgil's Eclogues (III.93): 'latet anguis in herba' — a snake lurks in the grass.

## Action steps

1. Used for two-faced friends and lurking risks.
2. Example: Watch out for him — he's a snake in the grass.

## Sources

- [Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898) — Internet Archive scan](https://archive.org/details/brewers-dictionary-of-phrase-and-fable)

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