Idiom
snake eyes
Meaning
Two ones, after rolling two dice.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“I lost the game because I rolled snake eyes.”
“He needed a high number to win, but he rolled snake eyes instead.”
“The gambler watched in silence as the dice landed on snake eyes, signaling the end of his winning streak.”
Examples
simple
“I lost the game because I rolled snake eyes.”
contextual
“He needed a high number to win, but he rolled snake eyes instead.”
complex
“The gambler watched in silence as the dice landed on snake eyes, signaling the end of his winning streak.”
Origin
Attested as a term in the game of craps, snake eyes is a compound formed from the visual resemblance of two single pips to the eyes of a snake. The two ones on a pair of dice are thus associated with the reptile’s gaze and the subsequent loss of the player's stake.
Key words
Related idioms
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