Literary notes about Snag (AI summary)
The word “snag” in literature is often used to evoke both a tangible obstacle and a metaphor for unforeseen complications. It frequently denotes a physical hazard—a dead or uprooted tree in a river or on land that can catch a boat or trip a traveler, as when a fallen limb sneaks through the snow or a vessel’s hull is pierced by one [1], [2], [3], [4]. At the same time, writers use “snag” to symbolize an unexpected hindrance or stumbling block in the flow of events, reflecting moments when plans falter or progress is suddenly halted [5], [6], [7]. This dual usage enriches narrative tension by merging the literal dangers found in nature with the figurative perils encountered in life’s unpredictable journeys.
- Fortunately most of the fallen masses of trees were buried, though a few broken limbs peeped through the snow to snag or trip me.
— from The Spell of the Rockies by Enos A. Mills - Now I couldn't see the ripple or the snag either.
— from Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad - If the steam-vessel happen to run against a snag, and that a hole is made in her bow, under the surface, this chamber merely fills with water.
— from Principles of Geology or, The Modern Changes of the Earth and its Inhabitants Considered as Illustrative of Geology by Lyell, Charles, Sir - Snag is the name given in America to trees which stand nearly upright in the stream, with their roots fixed at the bottom.
— from On the Economy of Machinery and Manufactures by Charles Babbage - This, however, encountered a snag, for Governor Ferry vetoed it.
— from Lyman's History of old Walla Walla County, Vol. 1 Embracing Walla Walla, Columbia, Garfield and Asotin counties by William Denison Lyman - Find the work to do for which you were fitted and do it, or else run yourself on the first convenient snag and founder.
— from Rosemary and Rue, by Amber by Martha Everts Holden - “‘Eh! Demar, your boat struck a snag, I see; well, never mind, old fellow, I saw from her looks that she was not offended.’
— from The White Rose of Memphis by William C. (Clark) Falkner
