I was just wondering where this phrase originated. Are foxes crazy or does this have something to with foxholes in WWI ??
I think you’ve misunderstood the use of the phrase. When someone says, “Yeah, he’s crazy - crazy like a fox,” it means that whatever the person is doing may seem crazy, but he actually has a subtle plan behind his odd behavior.
aseymayo got it - The fox traditionally has been depicted, in literature and legend, as a very smart, crafty creature. See Aesop’s Fables for some good examples, but the caricature is far older than Aesop. An equivalent phrase would be “What he is doing may not seem to make sense, but it is part of a larger plan to accomplish his goal”. I like “crazy like a fox” much better.
The overwhelming majority of people have more than the average (mean) number of legs. – E. Grebenik
Then there’s my cousins . . . .
(My mother’s maiden name was Fox – we used to wear teeshirts to family events that said “Foxy Lady”
-Melin
“Know why gentlmen prefer blondes? There aren’t enough redheads to go around.”
well…it actually came about when i went out with this one girl i had recently picked up. she called me this and, well, it just kinda stuck. who would have thought the saying would become this big?
“there can be only one” - me