The other day I saw post on the Omniglot fan club on Facebook about fox-related idioms. The discussion started with a fox-related Swedish idiom: Ha en räv bakom örat (“to have a fox behind one’s ear”) = to be cunning like a fox.
I found a few of interesting fox-related expressions in Welsh:
- Cysgu llywnog [kəsgɨ ɬʊɨnɔg] (“fox’s sleep”) = simulated sleep to deceive the onlooker
- Llwybr llwynog [ɬʊɨbr ɬʊɨnɔg] (“fox’s path”) = a secret path used by quarrymen when late for work to avoid being seen by the steward
- Tywydd llwynog [təʊɨð ɬʊɨnɔg] (“fox weather”) = unsettled weather
I particularly like the second one.
In English you might someone is a sly fox, or as sly/cunning as a fox if they’re particularly cunning and/or clever. This association is an old one mentioned in folk tales such as Aesop’s Fables, and also in Shakespeare’s plays [source]. You can also outfox someone when you outwit them, especially if you’re a wily old fox.
Do you know any other interesting fox-related idioms?
An idiom that quickly comes to mind is the North American English usage of ‘fox’ to describe an attractive (usually younger) woman (as in “she’s a fox”). The use of this is definitely in decline (its peak usage was likely in the 1970s). Its analogous adjective ‘foxy’ seems to be even rarer as both idioms are used in largely ironic or intentionally retro contexts.