Snipe hunt

Although snipe are a real family of birds, the snipe hunt is a practical joke, often associated with summer camps and other types of outdoor camping, in which the victim is tricked into engaging in a hunt for an imaginary creature.[1]

Snipe hunters are typically led to an outdoor spot at night and given a bag or pillowcase along with instructions that can include either waiting quietly or making odd noises to attract the creatures. The other group members leave, promising to chase the snipe toward the newcomer; instead, they return home or to camp, leaving the victim(s) of the prank alone in the dark to discover that they have been duped and left "holding the bag".[2]

The snipe hunt is a kind of fool's errand or wild-goose chase, meaning a fruitless errand or expedition, attested as early as the 1840s in the United States.[3][4] It was the most common hazing ritual for boys in American summer camps during the early 20th century, and is a rite of passage[5] often associated with groups such as the Boy Scouts. In camp life and children's folklore, the snipe hunt provides an opportunity to make fun of newcomers while also accepting them into the group.[6][7]

Setting the stage for the prank is often done with imaginative descriptions of the snipe, similar to tall tales. For instance, the snipe is said to resemble a cross between a jackrabbit and a squirrel; a squirrel-like bird with one red and one green eye; a small, black, furry bird-like animal that only comes out during a full moon, and so on.[8] According to American Folklore: An Encyclopedia:

While the snipe hunt is known in virtually every part of the United States, the description of the prey varies: it may be described as a type of bird, a snake, or a small furry animal. In one version, the snipe is a type of deer with a distinctive call; the dupe is left kneeling and imitating the snipe call while holding the bag to catch it.[9]

In another variation, a bag supposedly containing a captured snipe is theatrically brought to the campsite after a group hunt; the snipe quickly "escapes" unseen when the bag is opened.[10]

A similar practical joke in France is known as "hunting the dahut".[11] While the description of the prey differs from the North American snipe hunt, the nature of the joke is the same.[8]

In Spain, a similar joke is called cazar gamusinos ('hunting gamusinos'). The gamusino is an imaginary animal with no defined description.[12]

A snipe hunt features prominently in the plot and title of an episode of Cheers. The men of the bar send Frasier Crane on a snipe hunt in the Season 3 episode "The Heart is a Lonely Snipe Hunter."[13]

• Drop bear
• Elwetritsch
• Fearsome critters
• Jackalope
• List of practical joke topics
• Oozlum bird
• Squonk
• Wild haggis

• Bronner, Simon J. (2008). Killing Tradition: Inside Hunting and Animal Rights Controversies. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 978-0-81-312528-2.
• Bronner, Simon J. (2012). Campus traditions : folklore from the old-time college to the modern mega-university. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi. ISBN 978-1-61-703615-6.
• Brunvand, Jan Harold, ed. (1996). American Folklore: An Encyclopedia. New York, NY: Taylor & Francis. ISBN 0-81-530751-9.
• Chartois, Jo; Claudel, Calvin (1945). "Hunting the Dahut: A French Folk Custom". The Journal of American Folklore. 58 (227): 21–24. doi:10.2307/535332. ISSN 1535-1882. JSTOR 535332.
• Fee, Christopher R.; Webb, Jeffrey B., eds. (2016). American myths, legends, and tall tales : an encyclopedia of American folklore: 3 Volumes. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1-61-069567-1.
• Glimm, James Y. (1983). Flatlanders and Ridgerunners: Folktales from the Mountains of Northern Pennsylvania. University of Pittsburgh Press. ISBN 0-82-295345-5.
• Marsh, Moira (2015). Practically Joking. Logan: Utah State University Press. ISBN 978-0-87-421983-8.
• O'Neil, Gerard (2014). "The Squonk: A Small Tale From Franklin County". In White, Thomas (ed.). Supernatural Lore of Pennsylvania: Ghosts, Monsters and Miracles. Charleston: History Press. ISBN 978-1-62-619498-4.
• Palmatier, Robert Allen (1995). Speaking of Animals: A Dictionary of Animal Metaphors. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Publishing. ISBN 0-31-329490-9.
• Paris, Leslie (2008). Children's Nature: The Rise of the American Summer Camp. New York University Press. ISBN 978-0-81-476750-4.
• Watts, Linda S. (2006). Encyclopedia of American folklore. New York, NY: Facts On File. ISBN 0-81-605699-4.

• Bronner, Simon J. (1988). American Children's Folklore. Little Rock: August House. pp. 170–171. ISBN 0-87-483068-0.
• Ellis, Bill (1981). "The Camp Mock-Ordeal Theater as Life". The Journal of American Folklore. 94 (374): 486–505. doi:10.2307/540502. ISSN 1535-1882. JSTOR 540502.
• Glimm, James Y. (1983). "Snipe Hunting". Flatlanders and ridgerunners : folktales from the mountains of northern Pennsylvania. University of Pittsburgh Press. pp. 12–13. ISBN 0-82-295345-5.
• Posen, I.S. (1974). "Pranks and practical jokes at children's summer camps". Southern Folklore Quarterly. 38 (4): 299–309. ISSN 0038-4127.
• Smith, Johana H. (April 1957). "In the Bag: A Study of Snipe Hunting". Western Folklore. 16 (2): 107–110. doi:10.2307/1497027. JSTOR 1497027. OCLC 808993138.
• "Take Strangers Snipe Hunting". The Enterprise. Williamston, North Carolina. January 27, 1928.

Look up snipe hunt in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• "Snipe Hunting" – University of Southern California Digital Folklore Archives
• "Snipe Hunt" – James T. Callow Folklore Archive