Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

fox in the henhouse

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.04 in modern English

Syllables: fox in the hen-house
IPA

35

Scrabble Score

16

Letters

2

Syllables

10

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Someone untrustworthy placed in a position of trust in which they will be harmful, damaging or detrimental for their own personal gain.

Example Sentences

"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."

Etymology

A metaphor referring to the fox as a predator that would prey on the chickens if given an opportunity to do so.

Inflected Forms

foxes in the henhouse (plural) foxes in henhouses (plural) fox guarding the henhouse (alternative)

Phrases

cock in the henhouse wolf guarding the sheep accident waiting to happen set the cat among the pigeons

Frequently Paired Words

cock in the henhouse wolf guarding the sheep accident waiting to happen set the cat among the pigeons

Questions

What does fox in the henhouse mean?: Someone untrustworthy placed in a position of trust in which they will be harmful, damaging or detrimental for their own personal gain.
Where does fox in the henhouse come from?: A metaphor referring to the fox as a predator that would prey on the chickens if given an opportunity to do so.

How to pronounce fox in the henhouse

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