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My dictionary tells me that wrangle means to dispute angrily. But what does wrangle mean in this sentence? My guess is that Barry had raised lots of snakes before.

Barry had wrangled snakes before, Roberta told the Tulsa World, which is why he was confident he would be able to remove the rattler from the road.

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    See : Wrangler (profession). The word "wrangle" is a back-formation of "Wrangler".
    – J...
    Commented May 2, 2018 at 16:47
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    @WendyG's answer points out the correct meaning of the word "wrangle" in American English. I have never heard "wrangle" used to mean "to dispute angrily."
    – Him
    Commented May 2, 2018 at 16:51
  • Did you read all the definitions or just the first one?
    – Kat
    Commented May 2, 2018 at 20:46
  • @Scott but every dictionary in their first definition says it means dispute angrily. Is it uncommon or regional? Thanks!
    – dan
    Commented May 2, 2018 at 22:31

1 Answer 1

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you missed the second meaning

2- North American with object Round up, herd, or take charge of (livestock)

‘the horses were wrangled early’ https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/wrangle

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    Check out some movie credits. It wouldn't surprise me to see a [weevil] wrangler in the credits for Master and Commander, for example.
    – FumbleFingers
    Commented May 2, 2018 at 13:59
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    AmE writers often do this. Take a word usually used in another context and use it in a different one. As wrangle means to take charge of, it works great here.
    – Lambie
    Commented May 2, 2018 at 14:24
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    @dan You can't imagine rounding up or taking charge of snakes? It's pretty common in parts of the US.
    – stangdon
    Commented May 2, 2018 at 14:51
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    Note also that wrangling is a romantic term that evokes iconic images of American cowboys with big hats and mustangs and lariats, leading hundreds of head of cattle across miles of empty plains, while herding is more mundane. In other words, wrangling snakes sounds exciting, while herding snakes sounds tedious, and probably futile.
    – Andrew
    Commented May 2, 2018 at 15:36
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    @dan if you think wrangling snakes is funny, you'll like this 10+-year old commercial: Cat Herders. Note there is a subtle difference between herding animals and wrangling them, specifically the third definition in the above answer "to take charge of", or, in the case of the snakes, "capture alive".
    – Andrew
    Commented May 2, 2018 at 15:45

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