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Mar 24, 2009
This week's themeDouble trouble This week's words diptych snake_eyes portmanteau zwieback dicephalous 
Photo: Ingrid Balko Zeitle
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with Anu Gargsnake eyes
PRONUNCIATION:
(snayk aaiz)
MEANING:
noun:
A throw of two ones with a pair of dice. Since this is the lowest possible
score, by extension the term is also used to refer to bad luck.
ETYMOLOGY:
Either from the apparent resemblance of such a throw to a snake's eyes, or
from the association of snakes with treachery. The origin of the word craps,
where this term is often used, is also derived from an animal: crab. A synonym
of today's term is ambsace.
USAGE:
"Detroit's bet on big trucks and sport-utility vehicles has turned snake
eyes."David Kiley; Michigan: Epicenter of Unemployment; BusinessWeek (New York); Jun 24, 2008. See more usage examples of snake eyes in Vocabulary.com's dictionary. A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
I hate war as only a soldier who has lived it can, only as one who has seen its brutality, its futility, its stupidity. -Dwight D. Eisenhower, U.S. general and 34th president (1890-1969)
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