Brewer's: Renard

Une queue de renard. A mockery. At one time a common practical joke was to fasten a fox's tail behind a person against whom a laugh was designed. “Panurge never refrained from attaching a fox's tail or the ears of a leveret, behind a Master of Arts or Doctor of Divinity, whenever he encountered them.” —Rabelais: Gargantua, ii. 16. (See Reynard.)

Cest une petite vipére Qui n'epargneroit pas son père, Et qui par nature ou par art Scait couper la queue au renard.

Beaucaire: L'Embarras de la Foire.

Related Content Allusions Foreign Words and Phrases Latin and Greek Word Elements Names: Their Origins and Meanings Old Testament Names Mythology Ancient Greek Literature & Mythology The Bible (King James version) The Koran (translation by J. M. Rodwell) Shakespeare's Plays Tales from Shakespeare (Charles and Mary Lamb) Frequently Misspelled Words Frequently Mispronounced Words Easily Confused Words Writing & Language