A venomous North American snake with a copper-colored head and body, or historically, a Northerner who sympathized with the South during the American Civil War.
Compound of copper and head, describing the distinctive copper-colored head of the snake. The political slur emerged during the Civil War for those opposing the Union war effort.
Copperheads are actually the second-most-venomous snake in North America (after rattlesnakes), and they're found further north than any other venomous American snake, making them surprisingly common in backyards across the mid-Atlantic states!
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