What is "snag"

Snag \Snag\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Snagged; p. pr. & vb. n. Snagging.]

1. To cut the snags or branches from, as the stem of a tree; to hew roughly. [Prov. Eng.]
   --Halliwell.

2. To injure or destroy, as a steamboat or other vessel, by a snag, or projecting part of a sunken tree. [U. S.]

3. To catch on a snag [5]

4. (Fig.) To obtain by a quick action, as though by snagging [3] something passing by; -- often used of an opportunistic or fortunate action.

Snag \Snag\, n. [Prov. E., n., a lump on a tree where a branch has been cut off; v., to cut off the twigs and small branches from a tree, of Celtic origin; cf. Gael. snaigh, snaidh, to cut down, to prune, to sharpen, p. p. snaighte, snaidhte, cut off, lopped, Ir. snaigh a hewing, cutting.]

1. A stump or base of a branch that has been lopped off; a short branch, or a sharp or rough branch; a knot; a protuberance.

   The coat of arms Now on a naked snag in triumph borne.
   --Dryden.

2. A tooth projecting beyond the rest; contemptuously, a broken or decayed tooth.
   --Prior.

3. A tree, or a branch of a tree, fixed in the bottom of a river or other navigable water, and rising nearly or quite to the surface, by which boats are sometimes pierced and sunk.

4. (Zo["o]l.) One of the secondary branches of an antler.

5. Any sharp protuberant part of an object, which may catch, scratch, or tear other objects brought into contact with it.

   Snag boat, a steamboat fitted with apparatus for removing snags and other obstructions in navigable streams. [U.S.]

   Snag tooth. Same as Snag, 2.

   How thy snag teeth stand orderly, Like stakes which strut by the water side.
   --J. Cotgrave.

1570s, "stump of a tree, branch," of Scandinavian origin, compare Old Norse snagi "clothes peg," snaga "a kind of ax," snag-hyrndr "snag-cornered, with sharp points." The ground sense seems to be "a sharp protuberance." The meaning "sharp or jagged projection" is first recorded 1580s; especially "tree or branch in water and partly near the surface, so as to be dangerous to navigation" (1807). The figurative meaning "obstacle, impediment" is from 1829.

"be caught on an impediment," 1807, from snag (n.). Originally in American English, often in reference to steamboats caught on branches and stumps lodged in riverbeds. Of fabric, from 1967. The transitive meaning "to catch, steal, pick up" is U.S. colloquial, attested from 1895. Related: Snagged; snagging.

Etymology 1 n. 1 A stump or base of a branch that has been lopped off; a short branch, or a sharp or rough branch; a knot; a protuberance. 2 Any sharp protuberant part of an object, which may catch, scratch, or tear other objects brought into contact with it. 3 A tooth projecting beyond the rest; a broken or decayed tooth. 4 A tree, or a branch of a tree, fixed in the bottom of a river or other navigable water, and rising nearly or quite to the surface, by which boats are sometimes pierced and sunk. 5 (context figuratively English) A problem or difficulty with something. 6 A pulled thread or yarn, as in cloth. 7 One of the secondary branches of an antler. vb. 1 To catch or tear (e.g. fabric) upon a rough surface or projection. 2 (context fishing English) To fish by means of dragging a large hook or hooks on a line, intending to impale the body (rather than the mouth) of the target. 3 (context slang English) To obtain or pick up (something). 4 (context UK dialect English) To cut the snags or branches from, as the stem of a tree; to hew roughly. Etymology 2

n. 1 (context UK dialect obsolete English) A light meal. 2 (context Australia informal colloquial English) A sausage. (From 1941.) Etymology 3

n. A misnaged, an opponent to Chassidic Judaism (more likely modern, for cultural reasons).

1. n. a sharp protuberance

2. a dead tree that is still standing, usually in an undisturbed forest; "a snag can provide food and a habitat for insects and birds"

3. an opening made forcibly as by pulling apart; "there was a rip in his pants"; "she had snags in her stockings" [syn: rip, rent, split, tear]

4. an unforeseen obstacle [syn: hang-up, hitch, rub]

5. v. catch on a snag; "I snagged my stocking"

6. get by acting quickly and smartly; "snag a bargain"

7. hew jaggedly

8. [also: snagging, snagged]

In forest ecology, a snag refers to a standing, dead or dying tree, often missing a top or most of the smaller branches. In freshwater ecology it refers to trees, branches, and other pieces of naturally occurring wood found sunken in rivers and streams; it is also known as coarse woody debris. When used in manufacturing, especially in Scandinavia, they are often called "dead wood" and in Finland "kelo wood".

Snag may refer to:

• Snag (textiles), a fiber pulled from in normal pattern in a fabric
• Snag (ecology), a standing dead tree or a tree, or a branch of a tree, fixed in the bottom of navigable water, that may be a hazard to navigation.
• Snag, Yukon
• SnaG, the Seachtain na Gaeilge celebrations
• Society of North American Goldsmiths, founded in 1969
• Snag, a sausage in Australian English
• Snagging or snag fishing
• Snag list, or punch list, prepared near the end of a construction project listing work not conforming to contract specifications that the contractor must complete
• Snagging, another word for shredding trees

In textiles, a snag is created when a sharp or rough object pulls, plucks, scratches, or drags a group of fibres, yarn, or a yarn segment from its normal pattern. Snags can be classified into three types:

1. Snags that have a protrusion and no distortion,
2. Snags that have distortion and no protrusion,
3. Snags that have both protrusion and distortion.

Objects that often cause snags are rough fingernails or toenails, or hangnails.

When a snag occurs in certain fine textiles like pantyhose, it is called a run. This is because the snag breaks at least one fibre, causing the knit to come undone in a line which runs up the grain of the fabric.

In clothing, snags can also occur in coarse textiles like sweaters, or in certain types of sport jerseys such as for soccer (football). These are common in synthetic fabrics like polyester, which have extremely fine fibres even when they are used to make coarser fabrics.

Snags of this type (#3) may sometimes be repaired or minimized by firmly pressing with opposed finger and thumb at each end of the pulled thread (to prevent it from pulling further from each side), and gently pulling apart the bunched fabric, allowing the bunched fibers at the site of the snag to be drawn back in. Holding one end this way with one hand and using two fingers of the other hand on one side of the fabric (opposing the thumb on the other side) while slowly drawing them toward the snag site may also accomplish this. Any remaining fibres still protruding can then be trimmed off to keep them from snagging again.

The same characteristics which make polyester fabrics prone to snags also lead it to be used for Halloween. Artificial cobwebs are produced that can be stretched over objects for wikt:spooky/spooky effect. This stays in place because it snags on objects like shrubs or pushpins. Artificial spiders (often supplied in the same package) and other objects can in turn be snagged into the cobweb.

Other things can also snag on various objects. A fishing line can snag on a tree, for example. Similarly, a dead tree is also called a snag, as it can catch boaters (or hikers) off-guard. The term is also used colloquially to describe any unexpected circumstance which causes a delay in a project or any given situation.