Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

crazy like a fox

Idioms  

  1. Seemingly foolish but actually very shrewd and cunning. For example, You think Bob was crazy to turn it down? He's crazy like a fox, because they've now doubled their offer. This usage gained currency when humorist S.J. Perelman used it as the title of a book (1944). [Early 1900s] .

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

So is Bradford crazy or just crazy like a fox?

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 29, 2023

Or, as now seems truer than ever, is he crazy like a fox?

From Washington Post ● Oct. 14, 2022

I agree with Stephens that Putin’s crazy like a fox.

From Seattle Times ● Apr. 5, 2022

Derulo may now seem crazy like a fox for issuing the single before legal overtures were made, but there’s also something a little desperate and hello-fellow-kids about “Savage Love.”

From Slate ● Oct. 16, 2020

Like is a preposition, said the accusers, and may take only a noun phrase object, as in crazy like a fox or like a bat out of hell.

From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Dictionary.com's Learning Companion

Go beyond just looking up words.
Remember them forever with VocabTrainer.

Start training