fox
(redirected from Fox William)Also found in: Dictionary.
Related to Fox William: William Fox Talbot
Like this video? Subscribe to our free daily email and get a new idiom video every day!
crazy like a fox
Very clever, cunning, or shrewd while appearing foolish or mad. People thought I was crazy when I told them my idea for massive social networking site—crazy like a fox, more like it! Our boss is crazy like a fox; her daredevil schemes always sound like they'll bankrupt us, but they invariably bring in a huge profit.
Don't let the fox guard the henhouse.
Don't assign the duty of protecting or controlling valuable information or resources to someone who is likely to exploit that opportunity. You're going to put your ex-convict brother-in-law in charge of your business? I can't tell you how to run your company, but don't let the fox guard the henhouse.
fox guarding the henhouse
A person likely to exploit the information or resources that they have been charged to protect or control. My sister is going to put her ex-convict brother-in-law in charge of her business, and I'm worried he'll be like a fox guarding the henhouse.
fox in the henhouse
Someone with bad intentions. (A fox would prey upon hens in a henhouse.) I'd watch out for him if I were you—he walks around here like a fox in the henhouse.
fox's sleep
A state of apparent sleep (or feigned indifference) in which someone is actually aware of everything going on around him or her. Alludes to the idea that foxes sleep with one eye open and thus are always at the ready. I think Amy is just in a fox's sleep, so be careful what you say right now. The best way to get gossip on these trips is to be in a fox's sleep.
See also: sleep
shoot (one's) fox
To undermine or thwart someone's plans, efforts, or ambitions by taking action that pre-empts them or makes them redundant. Primarily heard in UK. Congress may have shot the president's fox, though, with a bill that he cannot politically afford to veto, but which leaves him with no opportunity to pass his signature healthcare plan.
*sly as a fox
and *cunning as a foxCliché smart and clever. (*Also: as ~.) My nephew is as sly as a fox. You have to be cunning as a fox to outwit me.
crazy like a fox
Seemingly foolish but actually very shrewd and cunning. For example, You think Bob was crazy to turn it down? He's crazy like a fox, because they've now doubled their offer . This usage gained currency when humorist S.J. Perelman used it as the title of a book (1944). [Early 1900s] .
crazy like a fox
AMERICAN, INFORMALIf you describe someone as crazy like a fox, you mean that they seem strange or silly but may in fact be acting in a clever way. He can be as scary in person as he is on screen — that man is crazy like a fox. Note: The image here is of the fox that is traditionally seen as clever and able to trick people.
crazy like a fox
very cunning or shrewd.shoot someone's fox
thwart someone's plans or ambitions by pre-empting them.The expression comes from the world of fox-hunting, where shooting a fox, which robs the hunters of their sport, is viewed with great displeasure.
2004 Scotland on Sunday The Democrats had planned to make unemployment a key issue in their campaign: Dubya, with his tax cuts, has shot their fox.
fox
n. an attractive girl or young woman. Man, who was that fox I saw you with?
fox trap
n. an automobile customized and fixed up in a way that will attract women. I put every cent I earned into my fox trap, but I still repelled women.
a stone cold fox
n. a very fine and sexy woman. (see also fox.) That dame is a stone cold fox. What’s her phone number?
stone fox
n. an attractive woman; a very sexy woman. Who is that stone fox I saw you with last night?