set the fox to mind the geese
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
To put someone in charge who is likely to harm or exploit what they are supposed to protect
Để đặt người không đáng tin cậy vào vị trí quản lý điều họ nên bảo vệ
Machine-translated — suggest a fix
Examples
AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)
Sources & notes
Listed on English Wikiquote “English proverbs” (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-31). Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-31; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “set the fox to mind the geese” mean?
To put someone in charge who is likely to harm or exploit what they are supposed to protect Literally: a fox guarding geese
Is “set the fox to mind the geese” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.