We call a crafty and cruel man a fox.
Beattie.
5. (Naut.) Rope yarn twisted together, and rubbed with tar; -- used for
seizings or mats.
6. A sword; -- so called from the stamp of a fox on the blade, or
perhaps of a wolf taken for a fox. [Obs.]
Thou diest on point of fox.
Shak.
7. pl. (Ethnol.) A tribe of Indians which, with the Sacs, formerly
occupied the region about Green Bay, Wisconsin; -- called also
Outagamies.
Fox and geese. (a) A boy's game, in which one boy tries to catch others
as they run one goal to another. (b) A game with sixteen checkers, or
some substitute for them, one of which is called the fox, and the rest
the geese; the fox, whose first position is in the middle of the board,
endeavors to break through the line of the geese, and the geese to pen
up the fox. -- Fox bat (Zoˆl.), a large fruit bat of the genus
Pteropus, of many species, inhabiting Asia, Africa, and the East
Indies, esp. P. medius of India. Some of the species are more than four
feet across the outspread wings. See Fruit bat. -- Fox bolt, a bolt
having a split end to receive a fox wedge. -- Fox brush (Zoˆl.), the
tail of a fox. -- Fox evil, a disease in which the hair falls off;
alopecy. -- Fox grape (Bot.), the name of two species of American
grapes. The northern fox grape (Vitis Labrusca) is the origin of the
varieties called Isabella, Concord, Hartford, etc., and the southern
fox grape (Vitis vulpina) has produced the Scuppernong, and probably
the Catawba. -- Fox hunter. (a) One who pursues foxes with hounds. (b)
A horse ridden in a fox chase. -- Fox shark (Zoˆl.), the thrasher
shark. See Thrasher shark, under Thrasher. -- Fox sleep, pretended
sleep. -- Fox sparrow (Zoˆl.), a large American sparrow (Passerella
iliaca); -- so called on account of its reddish color. -- Fox squirrel
(Zoˆl.), a large North American squirrel (Sciurus niger, or S.
cinereus). In the Southern States the black variety prevails; farther
north the fulvous and gray variety, called the cat squirrel, is more
common. -- Fox terrier (Zoˆl.), one of a peculiar breed of terriers,
used in hunting to drive foxes from their holes, and for other
purposes. There are rough- and smooth-haired varieties. -- Fox trot, a
pace like that which is adopted for a few steps, by a horse, when
passing from a walk into a trot, or a trot into a walk. -- Fox wedge
(Mach. & Carpentry), a wedge for expanding the split end of a bolt,
cotter, dowel, tenon, or other piece, to fasten the end in a hole or
mortise and prevent withdrawal. The wedge abuts on the bottom of the
hole and the piece is driven down upon it. Fastening by fox wedges is
called foxtail wedging. -- Fox wolf (Zoˆl.), one of several South
American wild dogs, belonging to the genus Canis. They have long, bushy
tails like a fox.
Fox (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Foxed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Foxing.] [See
Fox, n., cf. Icel. fox imposture.] 1. To intoxicate; to stupefy with
drink.