The phrase "coiled snake" refers to a snake that is curled up in a tight spiral shape. It can be used as a metaphor to describe someone or something that is tense, ready to attack or explode with anger or danger. Full definition
Inspired by Tragedy In the bowels of Chicago's Field Museum, a cavernous, climate - controlled archive houses row upon row of fossils, bones, hides and coiled snakes preserved in jars. (discovermagazine.com)
His paintings and drawings feature a recurring cast of men in baseball hats, gliding parrots and coiled snakes who all stare at us with striking, overlarge eyes. (miandn.com)