foxish

English

Etymology

From Middle English foxish, equivalent to fox +‎ -ish.

Adjective

foxish (comparative more foxish, superlative most foxish)

1. Like or characteristic of a fox; foxlike; (by extension) sly.
   • 1974, Thea Astley, A Kindness Cup, Text Classics, published 2018, page 83:

     Over all the faces was a sheen of appetite for something. They had a foxish look under the moving tree light.

   • 2002, Bryan David Cummins, First nations, first dogs:

     One was a "small, decidedly vulpine race," characterized by prominent, pointed, erect ears, pointed muzzle, silky hair and typically whitish belly. Consistent with foxish traits, the dogs were usually, brown, reddish or in some cases, white and gray.

   • 2008, Moishe Nadir, Harvey Fink, That is how it is:

     Then, he is — more tigerish than the tiger, more skunkish than the skunk, more foxish than the fox.

   • 2009, Joseph V. Femia, Vilfredo Pareto:

     Different types of political organisation, such as constitutional arrangements protecting individual rights, were simply ruses generally adopted by foxish elites to pull the wool over the eyes of the people.

Derived terms

• foxishly

Related terms

• foxlike
• foxy