Green’s Dictionary of Slang

(US) an arrogant, pompous individual.

2001		J. Stahl Plainclothes Naked (2002) 280: When he tried calling their office in New York, the snotbag who answered the phone hung up when he told him his business.
2001		S. King Dreamcatcher 150: You go now, snotball, unless you want half.

(S.Afr.) a penis.

2000

A. Brink Rights of Desire (2001) 95: If Adonis tried to show her the snot sjambok when Bella wasn’t looking, then Cupido was there to stop him.

(S.Afr.) misery, wretchedness.

1969		A. Fugard Boesman and Lena Act I: Snot and tears because the whiteman pushed over a trotten old pondock?
1979		A. Brink Dry White Season 88: I still remember it. Snot and tears. About life in jail.
2006		C. Marriner Southern Style 161: Even when Dessie ad the 38 to his temple and [...] were under firm orders to squeeze, the toff ad nuffin for me but snot and tears.

(Aus.) a contemptible person.

1971

K. Gilbert Cherry Pickers III i: You watch yer mouth or I’ll bottle ya! You only a snot-arse to me boy!

(drugs) rubber cement rolled into a ball and burned so that the fumes can be inhaled; usu. in pl.

2000

J. Baker Chinese Girl (2001) 122: Half the bedbugs were on snot-balls and lucky charmz.

1. the nose.

1786		Young Coalman’s Courtship 2: Mary [...] blew her snotter-box.
1812		Spirit of Irish Wit 102: He gives him a dub with his daddle upon de snotter-box and brought de Claret about his mug.
1820		Jack Randall’s Diary 63: Swift at Bob’s snotty-box, his white fist flew, And soon a shower of the claret hue [...] from Bob’s smellers burst.
1861		Dundee People’s Jrnl 7 Sept. 2/4: ‘An’ wi’ that I claught my lad by the snotter-box, an’ gave it sic a fleze roond that he’ll feel the frost o’t for twa days’.
1872		Fife Free Press 19 Oct. 2/7: One of those who gave chase came down with a vengeance upon his ‘snotter-box’.
1954		in Randolph & Legman Ozark Folksongs and Folklore (1992) I 546: Rubber neck, chopper box, snotter box, looker atter.
1959		I. & P. Opie Lore and Lang. of Schoolchildren (1977) 175: ‘Snot-box’ [...] and ‘boko’ for nose.
1974		G. Radano Stories Cops Only Tell Each Other 170: I say to Farbie, ‘I’ll hit that snot-box of yours a shot if you accuse me of slipping this into your pocket’ .
1998		Guardian Sport 98 31 July 16: Giving some old dear from the Colonies one up the snot-box early doors.
2014		Young M.A. ‘Brooklyn Chiraq Freestyle’ 🎵 If you talkin’ shit you better watch your mouth / Cause your snot box will get busted out.

2. an informer.

1907

Aberdeen People’s Jrnl 7 Dec. 2/5: What did Jock Brown, the simple-snotter-box no do? but let the cat oot o’ the puck.

(US) a derog. term of address.

1955		Hal Ellson Rock 49: Get the — out of here, snot-face.
1993		Clarion-Ledger (Jackson, MS) 8 Aug. 3F/4: [They] allowed their other sons to torture Quoyle with epithes of lardass, Snotyface, Pig, Warthog [etc].

a general term of derision.

1975		A. Bleasdale Scully 21: I bet he’s only an old snot gobbler like you, Bimbo.
1993–2003		poodlewrestler on Urban Dict. 🌐 snotgobbler arse licker, sycophant. only a snotgobbler like Robert could have promoted so fast.

a term of abuse.

1958		A. Sillitoe Sat. Night and Sun. Morning 114: The snot-gobbling gett that teks my income tax.
1967		D. Storey Restoration of A. Middleton 17: And that — you sniffling snot-gobbling little crat. And that. I’ll teach you to take my stick of chalk.
1984		K. Waterhouse Thinks 6: That swining bloody-minded pig-faced snot-gobbling attendant [...] refusing to part with change for the pay-and-display machine.
2006		D. Osborne Toby Potts 271: The endless queues of snot gobbling kids.

(N.Z.) a general derog. term.

1983		Tharunka (Kensington, NSW) 20 Sept. 7/2: You Snotheads ain’t go’ it yet, ave ya?
2003		McGill Reed Dict. of N.Z. Sl.

(S.Afr.) a term of abuse.

1990

A. Dangor Z Town Trilogy 150: Gwan, you snotkop, don’t lol with timers.

the nose.

1970		D. Ponicsan Last Detail 181: You get drunk [...] get captured, and jive your partner to tag a Shore Patrol dude on the snot-locker.
1977		J. Sayles Union Dues (1978) 294: He would of nailed him right in the old snot-locker, only we’re in these thick woods.
1979		E. Torres After Hours 10: You’d have five hundred dollars worth of candy in your snotlocker.
1987		(con. c.1967) J. Ferrandino Firefight 163: He always be diggin’ in his snotlocker.
2005		J. Walls Glass Castle 31: ‘You busted your snot locker pretty good.’ I started laughing really hard. ‘Snot locker’ was the funniest name I’d ever heard for a nose.

see separate entries.

(US) impoverished.

1961

H. Ellison Rockabilly (1963) 122: I don’t owe you a goddam thing; you and Asa had it from me, all you wanted when I was snot-poor.

see separate entry.

(US campus) to blow one’s nose without the use of a tissue, by blocking one nostril and blowing hard through the other nostril.

1997–2001

Online Sl. Dict. 🌐 blow snot rockets v 1. to blow one’s nose by blocking one nostril and blowing out the other forcefully. No tissues are required. This is usually performed outside. (‘Gross! He just blew a snot rocket!’).

(Irish) an unattractive person.

2002

Blue Pages (Dublin) ‘Dublin Dict.’ 🌐 A bucket of Snots A ugly person.

to terrify.

1982		W. Wharton Midnight Clear 66: Holy cow, you guys scared the snot out of me.
2016		Barer et al. Betrayal in Blue 181: The drama of the arrests [i.e. of other corrupt police officers] scared the snot out of Ken.

to blow one’s nose with one’s fingers.

1873		Sl. Dict.
1890–1904		Farmer & Henley Sl. and Its Analogues.

to weep.

1664		C. Cotton Virgil Travestie (1765) Bk IV 102: Much griev’d to see her weep and sob so, / To throw about her Snot, and throb so.
1678		J. Ray Proverbs (2nd edn) 82: To throw snot about. i.e. to weep.
1698		Elegy on the Death of Trade in Harleian Misc. II (1809) 294: Such throwing away snot, / Drivel, p--s, and what not, / That, in short, I wish’d myself out, sir.
1785, 1788, 1796		Grose Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue n.p.: Snivel, to cry, to throw the snot or snivel about.
1811		Lex. Balatronicum [as cit. 1785].

see up the creek (without a paddle) under creek n.