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. Louise thinks she's crazy as a fox, but she with the way she blows money on these ridiculous inventions, I think she's just crazy.

See also: crazy, fox, like

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] .

See also: crazy, fox, like

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

crazy like a fox

AMERICAN, INFORMAL

If 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.

See also: crazy, fox, like

Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012

crazy like a fox

very cunning or shrewd.

See also: crazy, fox, like

crazy like a fox

Seemingly silly but actually very crafty. The title of a book (1944) by the great American humorist S. J. Perelman, this ungrammatical term came to be applied more widely soon afterward and is a borderline cliché.

See also: crazy, fox, like

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