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.
snag (v.)
"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.
双语例句
1. There is just one small snag—where is the money coming from?
只有一个小问题—钱从哪儿来?
来自《权威词典》
2. The only snag is, I can't afford it!
惟一的困难是, 我付不起这钱!
来自《简明英汉词典》
3. It is to be expected that an experiment will sometimes run into a snag at first.
开始试验时有时不很顺手,也是很自然的.
来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
4. The school deals exclusively with children of high academic ability. There is a snag though, it costs £9,600 a year.
这所学校只招收学习能力强的孩子,不过还有个小问题——它每年的学费高达9,600英镑。
来自柯林斯例句
5. A police clampdown on car thieves hit a snag when villains stole one of their cars.