In the culture of the United States, the character of the fox is complicated and ambiguous. A wolf is simply horrifying. A fox is not.

A fox is thought to be selfish and greedy... but clever, cunning, and intelligent. We have an expression, "crazy like a fox." It is used when someone seems to be doing something stupid, crazy, or irrational. It means that the person has a subtle strategy that looks stupid but is really smart.

For example, a chess player lets his queen be captured. Someone says "Why did he do that? That's crazy." Someone else says "crazy like a fox." And, sure enough, three moves later, the player has won.

Foxes are a nuisance to farmers because they break into henhouses and kill chickens. We have an expression, "letting the fox guard the henhouse." Perhaps I can explain it with an example from a news article. "industry representatives will be allowed to weigh in on environmental rules in Michigan under [a new law which] establishes a rules committee with a majority of seats filled by the private sector. Opponents have referred to the laws as 'the fox guarding the henhouse.'" The point is that people "guarding the henhouse" (protecting the environment) will be "foxes," who have a financial reason not to want the rules enforced, because they want to exploit the environment themselves.

Because foxes mate energetically, "a fox" can mean a sexually attractive person. It is not exactly a compliment and not exactly an insult. The word for a female fox is "a vixen," and "vixen" can mean either a sexy woman, or a bad-tempered woman.

The ambiguity of the fox in US culture is shown by a beloved folk song, "The Fox Went Out on a Chilly Night." Here's a version by the great folk singer, the late Pete Seeger (1919-2014):

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3798TcSq9vY" target="_blank" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(17, 85, 204);">Pete Seeger: The Fox Went Out on a Chilly Night</a>

The song is about a fox who breaks into a farm and steals a goose. However, the song is completely cheerful and the fox is the hero of the song. We don't feel sorry for the farmer and his wife, we feel happy for the fox. He brings the goose back to his den, where they have a wonderful dinner and everyone is happy:

<em>He ran till he came to his nice warm den,</em>

<em>And there were the little ones, eight, nine, ten, </em>

<em>Sayin' "Daddy, Daddy, better go back again</em>

<em>For it must be a mighty fine town-o, town-o, town-o</em>

<em>Daddy, Daddy, go back again for it must be a mighty fine town-o"</em>

<em>The fox and his wife, without any strife</em>

<em>Cut up the goose with a fork and a knife</em>

<em>They never had such a supper in their life</em>

<em>And the little ones chewed on the bones-o, bones-o, bones-o</em>

<em>They never had such a supper in their life</em>

<em>And the little ones chewed on the bones-o, bones-o, bones-o.</em>

Thank you, Dan. It's fascinating.

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