fox guarding the henhouse

fox guarding the henhouse

A person likely to exploit the information or resources that they have been charged to protect or control. My sister is going to put her ex-convict brother-in-law in charge of her business, and I'm worried he'll be like a fox guarding the henhouse.
See also: fox, guard, henhouse
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
See also:
  • Don't let the fox guard the henhouse.
  • older sister
  • younger sister
  • throw the book at, to
  • throw (something) in (one's) face
  • throw in face
  • throw in someone's face
  • surrender to (someone or something)
  • squeeze (one) dry
  • squeeze somebody dry
References in periodicals archive
"Unbundling the third party administrator contract for claims adjudication from the health insurance provider network contract as the task force also recommended is essential to ensure that we don't have 'the fox guarding the henhouse," Sarlo said in a December statement in response to the task force report.
"The fox guarding the henhouse is a great metaphor," Rawlings told the Texas Pension Review Board last year.
For human rights, social justice, and secular education, a DeVos regime in the US Department of Education would be a proverbial case of the fox guarding the henhouse.
Read "Is FINRA the Fox Guarding the Henhouse?" on ThinkAdvisor.
This is truly an example of the fox guarding the henhouse.
But more government in the charity sector is like a fox guarding the henhouse. That concept dates back to the early Romans when government first discovered the ease of plundering and corrupting philanthropy by regulating it.
It's a classic case of the fox guarding the henhouse.
If so, how do we structure compensation for risk teams in order to avoid the potential result of the "fox guarding the henhouse," yet at the same time motivate and reward the performance of our risk management team in such a way that they don't feel short-changed or disconnected.
However, there is an argument to be made that such situations are akin to the fox guarding the henhouse. And the committee certainly did not help its cause by retaining a lawyer who is a known commodity to J&J execs.
"That would be a guideline that in certain instances they [court rules] would not have effect until ratified by the Legislature," he said, adding that drawing the line between procedural and substantive rules will always be a grey area "and to always have the judiciary making that interpretation on its own actions is like having the fox guarding the henhouse."
The composition of the committee suggests a whitewash, another example of the fox guarding the henhouse door.
Although it might be hyperbole to equate the move to the fox guarding the henhouse, at the very best, it's leaving the hens to fend for themselves.
"Having employers which have already broken the law determine the number of cheap foreign workers that will be admitted into the US is a classic example of the fox guarding the henhouse," said Rep.
"For many, many years since 1976, we have had the equivalent of the fox guarding the henhouse. It is very difficult for someone who makes a living from catching and selling fish to take advice on the need to slow down and reduce the catch." The 1992 groundfish disaster, he says, was a classic example: The New England council's scientific committee repeatedly warned of disaster ahead, but the council itself took no action until too late.