blowing adder n Also blow adder, blowing atter [From its habit of puffing itself up when disturbed]
= hognose snake n.
1807 (1869) Pursh Jrl. Bot. Excursion 15 nePA, This day I killed a monstrous large snake, which I seen likewise in Virginia, calld there Black Viper, here they call it blowing Atter . . they are said to be very poisenous, but on opening the mouth, I could not observe the structure of that kind in her teeth. 1879 Jackson Daily Citizen (MI) 18 July [2]/2 swOH, While lifting a shock of wheat to the grain rack, he uncovered a large red blow adder at least two feet in length. The adder was full of fight when it beheld an adversary, and straightway began to blow. 1882 Amer. Naturalist 16.566 West, Of all strange habits in snakes, none equals that observed in the blowing adder (Heterodon simus). 1901 Everybody’s Mag. 4.384/1 NY, We may sometimes find a milk snake, garter snake, or blowing adder (hognosed snake) sunning himself upon a rock. 1928 Pope–Dickinson Amphibians 50, This snake [Heterodon contortrix] is also known under various names in different localities, such as, . . Blowing Adder. 1933 Middletown Times Herald (NY) 10 July 7/3, Unionville Man Kills Blow Adder in Barn. . . George E. Carr killed a blowing adder in his barn last week just as it crawled out of the foundation. 1967–68 DARE (Qu. P25) Infs MI76, NJ1, 6, Blow adder; NJ8, TN14, Blowing adder.