Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word
fox in the henhouse. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
fox in the henhouse, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
fox in the henhouse in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
fox in the henhouse you have here. The definition of the word
fox in the henhouse will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
fox in the henhouse, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
English
Etymology
A metaphor referring to the fox as a predator that would prey on the chickens if given an opportunity to do so.
Pronunciation
- Hyphenation: fox in the hen‧house
Noun
fox in the henhouse (plural foxes in the henhouse or foxes in henhouses)
- (idiomatic, figurative) Someone untrustworthy placed in a position of trust in which they will be harmful, damaging or detrimental for their own personal gain.
1995 October 10, David L. Hill, “The Putsch to Enfeeble the Independent U.S. Inventor”, in Impact on U.S. Exporters of the New GATT Patent Accord: Hearing Before the House of Representatives , published 1997, pages 76–7:While the Commissioner of Patents is normally expected to understand and to promote the patent system as a bulwark for promoting the U.S. economy, the current Commissioner is, in many ways, a fox in the henhouse, undertaking to destroy that which he was commissioned to protect and to strengthen.
Translations
someone untrustworthy placed in a position of trust
See also