What Does “snake in one’s bosom” mean?
Definition:
The phrase a snake in one’s bosom refers to a person whom one has treated well and taken care of but turned out to be traitorous, untrustworthy, or ungrateful.
Other variants of this idiom:
a serpent in one’s bosom
a viper in one’s bosom
The viper is a family of venomous snakes.
This idiom usually collocates with verbs like cherish, nurture, nurse, nourish and warm:
cherish a snake in one’s bosom
nurture a snake in one’s bosom
nurse a snake in one’s bosom
nourish a snake in one’s bosom
warm a snake in one’s bosom
Example(s)
1. “Lord, let me not warm a snake in my bosom, that will at last sting me to the heart.” Whole Works of the Rev. Mr. John Flavel, Volume 5, By John Flavel”
2. I had taken him into my care, but when he grew up, he stole all my money and fled away. I had nourished a snake in my bosom.
3. He loved her so much and treated her like a queen. But, after ten years of marriage, he found out that he had cherished a snake in his bosom. She run off with a younger man.