A Snake by Any Other Name

Thanks to my friend Noel, I finally had the opportunity to take snakes to my afterschool program at a local elementary school. Noel very bravely loaned me his Angolan python and albino gopher snake, a native. Both snakes were calm in the face of very excited children. They were thrilled to hold a snake for the first time. The snakes survived their student encounter and, I’m sure, were relieved to get home to their quiet enclosures.

I was telling a thirty-something friend about the snakes, and she asked if they were danger noodles or boop noodles. Say what? I had heard the term danger noodle, but I wasn’t too familiar with these snake terms. 

‘Modern’ Snake Terms

Here’s a sampling of the modern terms used to describe snakes:

Danger noodle: venomous or constricting snake

Snek: (Internet slang, childish, humorous) alternative form of “snake.”

Nope rope: a snek with venom, like shake-snek (rattlesnake) and cober (cobra) Do not boop a nope rope or you will get the hurt juice (venom). 

To boop: to touch gently or playfully; to bop, especially on the nose.

Boop noodle: a cute snake with an attractive snout that you want to touch

No step on snek: which reminds me of the historical Gadsen flag. The Don’t Tread on Me flag features a timber rattlesnake, Crotalus horridus. So, the flag features a danger noodle shake-snek.

Interestingly, the rattlesnake symbolized unity for the thirteen original colonies during the Revolutionary War. It started in a 1754 political cartoon, “Join or Die.”

Apparently, the respect for rattlesnakes has waned over the years.

More modern terms:

Judgmental shoelace: refers to a specific species of snake, the oriental whip snake, Ahaetulla prasine. This thin snake is native to Southeast Asia. 

Noodle balls: ball pythons, snakes that create balls with their bodies

Slippery tube dudes: somewhere in the middle of nope ropes and boop noodles. I love scientific descriptions… sigh.

Hazard spaghetti: potentially dangerous or venomous snakes. Why this obsession with venomous snakes?

Spicy noodles: snakes that mimic venomous snakes, such as a gopher snake pretending to be a rattler.

When did snakes become pasta?

Caution ramen:  a thin, cute-looking, but dangerous snek, but “don’t eat this 1 or else u will get die.” Along with English grammar. A bunch of these sneks together becomes “a bowl of caution ramen.” The actual collective nouns for groupings of snakes are ball, den, nest, slither, pit, bed, or knot.

Boi: cute-looking youngster

Murder spagurder: a venomous snake, perhaps with a potentially fatal venom

Screaming worm boi: maybe a worm snake? Worm Snake (Carphophis amoenus)

I have to thank Lucidchart for this information. I hate to show my age, but they have produced a compendium of ‘nope’ animals. Quite creative, concerning, but creative.

Now, about this boop nonsense. Yes, nonvenomous snakes have cute faces and flat heads that are tempting to pet. Or noses that we feel compelled to boop. However, one of the first things I tell the students is to avoid touching the reptiles’ faces. Like us, they don’t like hands and things coming at their eyes. Some reptiles, like my iguanas, have teeth sharp enough to cut off a finger. So, despite the adorable snouts, please refrain from booping snakes, lizards, or turtles; you get the idea.

But the videos are the end of this phenomenon. They even went so far as to create a Danger Noodle card game: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwgYuJY8iRo.

Hmm, I wouldn’t say I like the premise of this game. Most of the danger animals are the ones I would want. You know, alligators, snakes, etc.

Even respectable folks like vets have joined in the danger noodle world: https://www.eastsacvet.com/blog/snick-snek-paddywack-danger-noodle-safety-tips/

All this new jargon is okay if it educates people. But really, nope rope? I could never say nope to any snake or snek. Snek is cute, but how hard is it to add another letter and spell it correctly?

I do like the idea of people speaking positively about snakes, but must we reduce them to boop noodles and Murder spagurder?

And to answer her original question: both snakes were boop noodles.

If you want to learn more about nope ropes (including their scientific names), take a look at my educational workbooks.