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sneeze-box

A cheeky old British slang term for a snuffbox — the small ornate container used to carry powdered tobacco (snuff) that was inhaled through the nose.

ˈsnibɪskoʊhistorical131 viewsLast reviewed Jun 29, 2026+ Add a definition
🇬🇧 British & Irish slang
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UK
#1·Apr 28, 2026UK

A cheeky old British slang term for a snuffbox — the small ornate container used to carry powdered tobacco (snuff) that was inhaled through the nose. The name is entirely logical: you open the box, take a pinch, sniff it up, and sneeze. It's the kind of blunt descriptive nickname that Georgian and Victorian England was excellent at producing. Today it's more historical curiosity than active vocabulary, but it has genuine charm.

He produced a silver sneeze-box from his coat pocket and offered a pinch to anyone interested.
Origin: British slang, likely 18th-19th century — a straightforward functional description: snuff makes you sneeze, and it lives in a box. Editorial expansion authored on Slangora (model-assisted, hedged).
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UK
#2·Apr 27, 2026UK

(UK, slang, dated) A snuffbox.

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🇬🇧About British & Irish slang slang

UK and Irish slang — Cockney, Scouse, Geordie, Yorkshire, Glaswegian, Brummie, Welsh, West Country, plus Irish English. Centuries of regional dialects feeding into modern British and Irish street talk.

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