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poacher turned gamekeeper. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
poacher turned gamekeeper, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
poacher turned gamekeeper in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
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English
Etymology
The figurative sense is by self-evident metaphor from the literal sense. The thought of poachers turned gamekeepers goes back centuries; for example, William Tinsley said in his memoirs that "There is an old saying that the most expert poachers make the best gamekeepers. I do not think the saying is true as a rule "
Pronunciation
Noun
poacher turned gamekeeper (plural poachers turned gamekeepers)
- (idiomatic, figurative) A person now charged with protecting what they formerly preyed upon.
- Synonym: wolf guarding the sheep
1877, Mayne Reid, Gwen Wynn: A Romance of the Wye, volume III, Tinsley Brothers, page 71:Ah! poacher turned gamekeeper! That be settin' thief to catch thief!
1938, The Strand Magazine, volume 95, page 373:When President Roosevelt appointed Kennedy to the Securities Exchange Commission, he was acting on the "poacher turned gamekeeper" principle.
- Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see poacher, turned, gamekeeper.
See also
References
- ^ Tinsley, William (1900) Random Recollections of an Old Publisher, volume 1, Simpkin, Marshall, Hamilton, Kent and Company, page 36