pukki kaalimaan vartijana

Finnish

Etymology

Literally, “a billy goat guarding a cabbage patch.” Compare Hungarian kecskére bízza a káposztát (literally to entrust a goat with the cabbage), German den Bock zum Gärtner machen (literally to make the goat into a gardener).

Noun

pukki kaalimaan vartijana

  1. (idiomatic) fox in the henhouse, fox guarding the henhouse (someone untrustworthy placed in a position of trust in which they will be harmful, damaging or detrimental to benefit themselves)

Usage notes

The verb of placing someone as the "billy goat to guard a cabbage patch" uses the translative case for vartija instead of the essive case:

panna pukki kaalimaan vartijaksito set a fox in charge of guarding the henhouse

Declension

See pukki.

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