# anaconda mortgage

idiom

Source: https://englishreference.com/idiom/anaconda-mortgage
Updated: 2026-08-10

## Meaning

A loan arrangement in which all of the money borrowed from a lender, for whatever purpose, is secured by one's home, land, and other property.

## Examples

- They signed an anaconda mortgage to cover their new business loan.
- An anaconda mortgage links your car loan and your home loan together.
- The bank required an anaconda mortgage, meaning the couple had to use their house as security for all their debts.
- Because the farmer has an anaconda mortgage, the bank could take his equipment and his house if he fails to pay for the new seeds.
- Small business owners sometimes regret signing an anaconda mortgage when a minor credit card debt puts their entire warehouse at risk.
- Before agreeing to the terms, the lawyer warned that an anaconda mortgage would place the family's entire property portfolio at risk if they defaulted on any single loan.

## Origin

The term arises as an allusion to the predatory mechanics of the constrictor snake, specifically the anaconda. It likens the accumulation of debt to the process of being trapped within the animal's coils, where the increasing pressure of the obligation mirrors the method by which the snake crushes its prey.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.