This one is neat because it has a nuanced meaning that lot of people probably suck at expressing *and* there’s likely a folklore/mythology component to it. Let’s dig in.
To be “crazy like a fox,” a person is doing something that is seemingly illogical or unwise, but is actually hiding a clever or sneaky motive. Think of a wealthy, elderly patriarch feigning illness to find out which of his children are most worthy of the inheritance.
Like many idioms, the true origins of the term are lost to history, but the modern usage can be traced to humorist S.J. Perelman’s book published in 1944 titled Crazy Like a Fox. Some good speculation as for how the meaning came about can be found in fox behavior and folklore. In a somewhat rare move in the animal world, a fox is known to double back on its own scent trail and go another direction in order to attempt to throw off pursuers. This is a high-risk, high-reward scenario for the fox, but if it pays off the predator hunting said fox can find the end of a trail and be miles away from its prey, ostensibly making it super sad and hungry.
Many other sources in English going back to the 12th century have similar meanings when referring to a person who is very clever.
So I already knew that foxes were considered “tricksters” or otherwise sneaky mystical creatures in several cultures, but a quick Wikipedia search reveals that cultures in Africa, Europe, East Asia, and the Americas viewed foxes as some variant of “mischievous” or “sneaky.” Many American children grew up hearing about “Br’er Rabbit” and “Br’er Fox,” for example. In Finnish myth, the fox is weaker than the bear and the wolf but ends up winning over them for his greater intellect.
As a side note, we’ve also heard the terms “foxy” and “vixen,” typically to refer to attractive women. “Vixen” especially, though, has a slightly more negative connotation as a woman who is somehow dangerous or subversive.
I like learning about the meaning of one thing and finding accidentally the meaning of other terms I’ve never really thought about before. I enjoy that moment of “wait what for real” for things I normally just take at face value.
That’s all, go about your business.
