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snowbird

[ snoh-burd ]

noun

  1. any of various birds that winter in a cold, snowy climate, especially the dark-eyed junco and the snow bunting.
  2. Informal. a person who vacations in or moves to a warmer climate during cold weather:

    Since 9/11, the ease with which Canadian snowbirds cross the U.S. border has changed.

  3. Slang: Disparaging and Offensive. a person addicted to cocaine or heroine:

    The cocaine addiction of pre-talkies film star Alma Rubens earned her the unfortunate nickname “Silent Snowbird.”



snowbird

/ ˈsnəʊˌbɜːd /

noun

  1. another name for the snow bunting
  2. slang.
    a person addicted to cocaine, or sometimes heroin
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


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Word History and Origins

Origin of snowbird1

First recorded in 1665–75; snow (in the sense “precipitation; snowflake”) + bird; 1910–15 snowbird fordef 3, with snow (in the sense “cocaine or heroin”)
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Example Sentences

They were snowbirds who hadn’t quite made it back north for the summer and year-round residents hunkered down for South Florida’s stickiest months.

This is common “Black and White Snowbird” of the east, and is the same as above, but darker and does not have any white wing bars.

He had remembered the Snowbird, fretting its high spirit out within the closed paddock, and a daring notion had seized him.

Yet still there was no sign of the Snowbird along the horizon, nor any point discernible where an Indian encampment might be.

The Snowbird stood saddled for many days: yet it was only upon errands of hospitality and charity that he was needed.

One of its German names, Schneevogel (snowbird), was evidently given in this belief.

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