Word of the Day: Fox
fox
fox / fŏks
noun
1. a carnivorous mammal of the dog family Canidae and genus Vulpes, with a pointed muzzle and bushy tail
The fox will catch you with cunning, and the wolf with courage.
Albanian Proverb
2. the fur from a member of the genus Vulpes
You look fat in fox anyway, so if you start fat, you only look a little fatter.
Totie Fields, 1930 – 1978
3. a person who is sly, cunning or clever
Be a lion at home and a fox abroad.
Iranian Proverb
4. (slang) a person who is sexually attractive
She’s a total fox.
Evan Peters, 1987 –
5. rope made from strands of yarn, twisted together and tarred
Foxes, used for temporary seizings, making mats, sennit, gaskets, reefing beckets, boat gripes, bending studding sails, etc., are made of two or more yarns, as required, laid up by twisting by hand, and then well rubbed down with a piece of tarred parcelling.
“Rope” ‘Historic Naval Ships Association’, www.hnsa.org/manuals-documents/age-of-sail/textbook-of-seamanship/rope, accessed August 6, 2020
6. Fox, a member of the Native American people who formerly lived in the western Great Lakes area and Wisconsin
When you have learned about love, you have learned about god.
Proverb from Native American Fox
Verb
1. to deliberately mislead or trick; to outwit
It was only in the past 36 hours or so that police really got a handle on the possible identity of the suspect, who had foxed them for weeks by changing the nature of his targets and his method of operation.
Gary O’Donoghue, “Austin bombings: Suspect dead after detonating device, police say” ‘BBC News’, March 21, 2018
2. to perplex or confuse or be confused
I admit I was foxed for some time by a mnemonic to distinguish the waxing and waning Moon.
“Ariadne” ‘New Scientist’ March 14, 1992
3. to repair or construct (a shoe) by adding leather or other material to the top
The heels and toes are foxed with black leather, and the upper edges are bound with folded ribbon.
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