c1236 in J. T. Fowler Chartularium Abbathiæ de Novo Monasterio (1878) 55 In illa parte agri quæ vocatur le Snoc.

?1297 Documents Illustr. Hist. Scotl. (1870) II. 160 In factura pontis castri Berwyci, muri lapidei juxta mare subtus le Snoke.

1488 (c1478) Hary Actis & Deidis Schir William Wallace (Adv.) (1968–9) vii. l. 1044 Furth thai fle Till Dwnottar, a snuk with-in the se.

1489 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (Adv.) iv. 556 On Turnberys snuke [1487 St. John's Cambr. turnberyis nwk] he may Mak a fyr.

1489 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (Adv.) i. 188 Fra Weik anent Orknay To Mullyr snwk in Gallaway.

1648 W. J. Blaeu Atlas Eng., Map of Insvla Sacra The Snewke or Conny warren.

1697 W. Dampier New Voy. around World ix. 243 The Fish I observed here mostly, were what we call Snooks, neither a Sea-fish nor fresh Water fish, but very numerous in these salt Lakes.

1725 H. Sloane Voy. Islands II. 288 Snook. It was taken at Passage fort.

1827 O. W. Roberts Narr. Voy. Central Amer. 156 It [Caratasca Lagoon] abounds in various sorts of fish of the finest description, particularly mullet, calapaner, snoak, cavallee, and also manatee.

1858 P. L. Simmonds Dict. Trade Products Snook, a common fish, both of the sea and the rivers of the West Indies, the Centropomus undecimalis.

1883 Official Catal. Internat. Fisheries Exhib. (ed. 4) 170 Model of Fresh-water Fishpot, for taking mullet, snook, &c.

1791 E. Wynne Diary 7 Dec. (1935) I. 90 They cock snooks at one on every occasion.

1879 A. J. C. Hare Jrnl. 15 Aug. in Story of my Life (1900) VI. xx. 218 If I put my hands so..(cutting a snooks), they might reproach me very much indeed.

1904 Times 24 Sept. 8/3 The young monkey puts his tongue in his cheek and cocks a snook at you.

1906 Drury Men at Arms 36 Her Majesty's ship..cocked her jibboom snooks-fashion at her late enemy the sea.

1929 H. Walpole Hans Frost i. vii. 78 He was like a dirty street boy cocking a snook at Sappho.

1938 E. Ambler Cause for Alarm viii. 128 The Rome–Berlin axis..cocked the biggest snook yet at the League of Nations idea.

1959 M. Cumberland Murmurs in Rue Morgue v. 38 With his right hand he made the somewhat coarse gesture known as ‘cocking a snook’. The thumb and extended fingers, spread in front of the face, made a baffling disguise.

1961 B. Fergusson Watery Maze ii. 48 It would be idle to pretend that it was of much importance; it was really only cocking a vulgar snook.

1965 Listener 9 Sept. 374/2 I walked past the Thatched House..where I and other young journalists used to cock snooks at our superiors.

1980 Times 29 Feb. 10 East German craft last spring embarked upon a new ploy..to net a Danish torpedo,..cooking a snook at Nato's Baltic muscle.

1965 E. Gowers Fowler's Mod. Eng. Usage (ed. 2) 535/2 Mere snook-cockers of whom it has been said..that their only concern is to ‘find someone who is doing something..and fling a few insults at him’.

1950 D. Gascoyne Vagrant 57 And not think them impudent snook-cocking.

1958 Economist 6 Dec. 880/2 The seven Liberal councillors of Finchley..in snook-cocking protest against the local shortcomings of London Transport's bus service have launched a free private service of their own.

1978 M. Cadogan & P. Craig Women & Children First viii. 167 Spike Milligan's snook-cocking record of his war-time experiences.

1962 Spectator 13 Apr. 478 A snook-cockingly ‘blasphemous’ film.