English

Adjective

crazy like a fox ‎(not comparable)

1. (idiomatic) Behaving in a foolish, frivolous, or uncomprehending manner as a ruse for concealing clever deeds or deeper intentions.
   • 1911, Peter B. Kyne, Captain Scraggs or, The Green-Pea Pirates, ch. 18:

     "If old Scraggsy's crazy he's crazy like a fox. What's rilin' him is the knowledge that he's stung to the heart an' can't admit it without at the same time admittin' he'd cooked up a deal to double-cross us. He's just a-bustin' with the thoughts that's accumulatin' inside him."

   • 1955 March 7, "Art: The Fox of Paris," Time:

     Paris Painter Georges Mathieu appears to be crazy like a fox. . . . [B]y adroitly publicizing himself, Mathieu has recently become the reigning darling of advance-guard art, has no trouble selling (at prices ranging from $600 to $3,400) pictures that take only from a few minutes to a few hours to paint.

   • 2007 May 14, Tom Lowry et al., "Crazy Like A Fox," Businessweek (retrieved 18 July 2011):

     Murdoch's bid to get his hands on The Journal may seem foolishly pricey, but he's got his reasons.

   • 2010 Dec. 18, Jonathan Abrams, "With Two Trades, the Magic Bets on the Present," New York Times (retrieved 18 July 2011):

     “He comes off as crazy, but he's crazy like a fox,” Smith said of Arenas last year. “He knows exactly what he's doing all the time.”

See also

• sly as a fox

References

• crazy like a fox at OneLook Dictionary Search