Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

sacred cow

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.89 in modern English

Syllables: sa-cred -cow
IPA

17

Scrabble Score

9

Letters

3

Syllables

8

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Something which cannot be tampered with, or criticized, for fear of public outcry. A person, institution, belief system, etc. which, for no reason other than the demands of established social etiquette or popular opinion, should be accorded respect or reverence, and not touched, handled or examined too closely.

Example Sentences

"Many sacred cows were milked dry in an unbelievable series of outrageous events."
"Irreverence is our only sacred cow."
"In my opinion, in order to save serious amounts of money, a number of 'sacred cows' will need slaying."
"And he [Nick Fuentes] can attack what was until recently one of the right’s last true sacred cows: Israel."

Etymology

Originally American English (early 1900s), a reference to the elevated place of cows in Hinduism.

Inflected Forms

sacred cows (plural)

Phrases

holy cow third rail

Frequently Paired Words

holy cow third rail totem

Questions

What does sacred cow mean?: Something which cannot be tampered with, or criticized, for fear of public outcry. A person, institution, belief system, etc. which, for no reason other than the demands of established social etiquette or popular opinion, should be accorded respect or reverence, and not touched, handled or examined too closely.
Where does sacred cow come from?: Originally American English (early 1900s), a reference to the elevated place of cows in Hinduism.

How to pronounce sacred cow

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