1. Either of two deadly snakes of the genus
Dendroaspis of the
Elapidae, with a bite that is almost invariably fatal:
a. D. polylepis, noted for its aggressiveness; black mamba, see sense 2 below; or b. D. angusticeps; green mamba sense (a), see sense 2 below. Also attributive, and figurative.
1860 D.L.W. Stainbank Diary. (Killie Campbell Africana Library KCM8680) 23 Apr.A large snake rushed by me into the hut...It proved to be a large mamba (black) between 8 and 9 feet long and two or three inches in diameter.
1878 T.J. Lucas Camp Life & Sport 104
The imamba, a small species of boa, is the most dangerous.
1890 P. Gillmore Through Gasa Land 23
The mamba frequently grows to the length of ten or eleven feet...There are two varieties, the green and the brown.
1905 W.L. Sclater in Flint & Gilchrist Science in S. Afr. 148
The justly-dreaded mamba (Dendraspis angusticeps) is only found in Natal and the low country in the east. It is more of a tree-snake than the others, and sometimes reaches a length of 10 feet.
1926 E. Prov. Herald 11 Mar. 3
On ploughing through an ant heap he cut a large mamba in two. Unfortunately the mamba, before dying, bit Botha on the leg. Botha expired within two hours.
1937 C. Birkby Zulu Journey 113
A mamba-bite remedy made by the natives from pounded root of the inkwakamuti bush mixed with the dried powdered spleen of the mamba.
1940 V. Pohl Bushveld Adventures 147
There is little doubt that the mamba is the most dangerous snake in existence.
1953 R. Campbell Mamba’s Precipice 19
Mambas can move with the speed of a galloping horse. Their bite is absolutely fatal and there is no remedy for it.
1965 P. Baragwanath Brave Remain 133
She was a woman who was going to do battle with the mamba, the lion, the raiding Swazi!
1982 C. Hope Private Parts 17
Grannie would..talk to him of her great-grandfather who died with Retief at the hands of the mamba, Dingaan, King of the Zulus.
1982 Sunday Times 19 Sept.
(Mag. Sect.
) 25
Just sit and watch the fun with a vetkoek in one hand and a fizzy mamba-green cooldrink in the other.
1988 J. Michell in Style Mar. 46
Anyone who lives in Africa is sooner or later going to meet a mamba in the bathroom.
1991 Best of S. Afr. Short Stories (Reader’s Digest Assoc.
) 168
About 1 — 1,5 m long, the boomslang resembles a mamba, except for its very large eyes, which are grey or brown in adults and iridescent green in hatchlings.
2. With defining word:
black mamba, see
sense 1 a above; also
figurative;
green mamba,
(a) see
sense 1 b above;
(b) figurative,
colloquial [see
quotation 1980], a nickname for a Putco commuter bus; also
attributive; see also
Putco;
Groen Mamba figurative,
colloquial [Afrikaans
groen green; referring to the colour and potency of the drink
], the liqueur crème de menthe;
Jangroentjie sense 2.
1878 P. Gillmore Great Thirst Land 346
A black mamba — a description of snake common in Natal, and reported to be very deadly — I killed to-day.
1897 J. Bryce Impressions of S. Afr. 23
The black momba, which is nearly as large as a rattlesnake, is a dangerous creature.
1910 J. Buchan Prester John 80
A black mamba might appear out of the tangle.
1928 L.P. Greene Adventure Omnibus 691
A black momba passed very close to him. He struck at it, missing, and the snake..turned, incensed.
1938 F.C. Slater Trek 113
Warnings from those who knew Black-mamba-Dingaan, that the king was bent On treachery and murder.
1955 A. Delius Young Trav. in S. Afr. 118
There were vivid red and black coral snakes, the green lash-like boomslang which was as poisonous as the dreaded black mamba.
1978 C.J. Reitz Poisonous S. Afr. Snakes 22
Two drops (± ¼ ml) of venom is regarded as fatal for man and an adult black mamba has a capacity of 20 drops or more per venom fang.
1987 R. Patterson Reptiles of Sn Afr. 91
Rarely black despite its name, it is dull olive, gun metal or leaden coloured...The Black Mamba inhabits bushveld and tropical areas.
1988 M. Gwala in Staffrider Vol.7 No.1
, 91
In ‘The Black Mamba Rises’ the lethal black mamba becomes a metaphor for the strategic astuteness of the organized workers’ movement.
1862 J.S. Dobie S. Afr. Jrnl (1945
) 44
He called it a green mamba and [it] was about 9 feet long.
1864 ‘A Lady’ Life at Natal (1972
) 37
Having just killed a large green ‘mamba’ that was taking its siesta in an oleander bush opposite my window. These snakes are the deadliest known.
1913 L. Lyster Ballads of Veld-Land 69
Back and forth that deadly bay’net swung Like the green mamba’s swiftly darting tongue When o’er her hole she battles for her young.
1925 D. Kidd Essential Kafir 189
If the person had been bitten by a green mamba, then he would have to be treated with green mamba-head dried and powdered.
1946 H.C. Bosman in S. Afr. Opinion Dec.Jurie Steyn’s mind seemed to have grown all curved like a green mamba asleep in the sun.
1979 C. Endfield Zulu Dawn 19
Mamba, deadly green mamba! But if it really had been there, it failed to show itself during the beating-out he had ordered.
1990 Weekly Mail 2 Feb. 21
Asbestos is like a green mamba. It is very dangerous.
1975 S. Roberts Outside Life’s Feast 12
Having lived..in Johannesburg in a tiny house..on a busy street down which incessant traffic and ‘green mambas’ screamed.
1980 C. Hope A Separate Development (1983
) 44
Racketing kikuyu green buses jammed to the eyeballs with blacks from the Location. The buses were called Green Mambas. I think because they appeared from nowhere and hit you without warning.
[1981 Frontline Sept. 15
I have seen changes. For example Putco buses are no longer mamba green but light blue.]
1985 Frontline Sept. 15
Domestic servants..have been crowding the pre-dawn Green Mamba buses with their shopping baskets laden with fresh Umlazi bread for The Madam.
1987 S. Roberts Jacks in Corners 61
Wobbly buses known as Green Mambas would woosh by spewing diesel fumes.
1968 W. Kempen in D.J. Opperman Spirit of Vine 281
Words denoting liquor: Chwala,..Groenmamba (Peppermint liqueur).
1978 Pace Dec.
The lunch menu: Crayfish cocktail, filet mignon..Van der Hum, Drammie, Groen Mamba.
3. figurative. An unusually talented, skilful, or intelligent person.
1978 L. Barnes in The 1820 Vol.51 No.12
, 19
A mamoo — known also as a ‘mamba’ or ‘a good thing’..is one who excels in academics, sport or some special skill.
1992 E.R.A. Essery Informant, Durban, KwaZulu-NatalShe sews like a mamba; she’s really good...You have to be a mamba of a bricklayer to make a circular wall.
4. figurative. slang. A home-brewed alcoholic drink. Cf. mbamba.
1981 B. Fairbrother in Sunday Times 15 Nov. 41
In the jungle the mighty mamba rules. Only this ‘jungle’ is on the outskirts of Arlington race-course...And mamba is the name of a potent homebrew made by squatters.
D. polylepis, noted for its aggressiveness; black mamba, see sense 2 below; or
D. angusticeps; green mamba sense (a), see sense 2 below. Also attributive, and figurative.
An unusually talented, skilful, or intelligent person.
A home-brewed alcoholic drink.
Chrome
Firefox
Internet Explorer
Safari