Idiom
fox in the henhouse
Meaning
Someone untrustworthy placed in a position of trust in which they will be harmful, damaging or detrimental for their own personal gain.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“Putting him in charge is like putting a fox in the henhouse.”
“Hiring a known thief to count the money is a fox in the henhouse.”
“You have a fox in the henhouse if your lawyer works for the enemy.”
“The company hired a consultant known for closing factories, which felt like putting a fox in the henhouse.”
“Giving the office gossip access to everyone's private files is definitely letting a fox in the henhouse.”
“The team feels there is a fox in the henhouse now that their main competitor's brother is the new manager.”
“By appointing the corrupt official to oversee the ethics committee, the government effectively placed a fox in the henhouse.”
Examples
simple
“Putting him in charge is like putting a fox in the henhouse.”
“Hiring a known thief to count the money is a fox in the henhouse.”
“You have a fox in the henhouse if your lawyer works for the enemy.”
contextual
“The company hired a consultant known for closing factories, which felt like putting a fox in the henhouse.”
“Giving the office gossip access to everyone's private files is definitely letting a fox in the henhouse.”
“The team feels there is a fox in the henhouse now that their main competitor's brother is the new manager.”
complex
“By appointing the corrupt official to oversee the ethics committee, the government effectively placed a fox in the henhouse.”
Origin
From the predatory habit of the fox, which requires only the briefest lapse in security to consume the inhabitants of a poultry shed. The metaphor relies upon the natural inclination of the animal to seize the opportunity provided by proximity to its prey.
Key words
Related idioms
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