snake in the grass

Definitions

A hidden enemy.

derogatory, informal

Equivalents

Examples

“The trouble⟳ is, I trusted him too much from the start⟳. He has proved to be a snake in the grass.”

“Is he not here to throw⟳ us out—a thief, a spy, a snake in the grass?”

“He's a snake in the grass, I tell⟳ you guys / He may look⟳ dumb but that's just a disguise / He's a mastermind in the ways of espionage.”

“We were playing in Dallas, when that snake in the grass—Eight Ball, everyone called him—came up on my blind side …”

“Following her presidential defeat⟳, [Ségolène] Royal stunned many observers by publicly dumping Socialist Party leader François Hollande – her companion and the father of her four children – and announcing she'd seek⟳ his post⟳ during the current election. To some, that made Royal the symbol of the strong, modern woman in politics; to others, it cast⟳ her as the classic snake in the grass.”

CEFR level