snaffle

== English == === Etymology === Apparently from Dutch snavel, from Middle Dutch snavel, snabel (“snout”), diminutive of Middle Dutch snabbe, snebbe (“bird's bill, neb”). Akin to Old Frisian snavel (“mouth”), Middle Low German snabbe (“neb, beak”), Old English nebb (“beak, bill, nose, face”). More at neb. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ˈsnæfəl/ Rhymes: -æfəl === Noun === snaffle (plural snaffles) A broad-mouthed, loose-ringed bit (metal in a horse's mouth). It brings pressure to bear on the tongue and the corners of the mouth, and is often used as a training bit. (figuratively) Decorative wear that looks like a snaffle. ==== Synonyms ==== bradoon === Verb === snaffle (third-person singular simple present snaffles, present participle snaffling, simple past and past participle snaffled) (transitive) To put a snaffle on, or control with a snaffle. (transitive, figurative, by extension) To quell or suppress. (transitive) To clutch by the bridle. (transitive, informal) To grab or seize; to snap up. (transitive, informal) To purloin, or obtain by devious means. (UK, Norfolk, intransitive, archaic) To talk foolishly. ==== Derived terms ==== ==== References ==== (talk foolishly): John Camden Hotten (1873), The Slang Dictionary