fox-goose 
fox-goose (foks'gSs), H. The Egyptian or Nile 
goose, Clii-italopex or Alopiii'liai ii't/i/jitiaca: so 
called either from the rusty-reddish coloration 
or from the bird's breeding in underground 
borrows. 
fox-grape (foks'grap), . The common name 
of several species of North American wild 
grapes, especially I'll is l.nliriiaca of the north- 
ern and western and I", ndpiini of the southern 
United States: so called from their musky or 
foxy perfume. 
foxhound (foks'houud), H. A hound for chas- 
ing foxes: a variety of hound in which are 
combined, in the highest degree of excellence, 
fleetness, strength, spirit, fine scent, persever- 
ance, and subordination. The foxhound is smaller 
than the staghound, its average height being from 20 to 
22 inches. It is supposed to be a mixed breed between the 
staghound or the bloodhound and the greyhound. It is 
commonly of a white color, with patches of black and tan. 
fox-hunt (foks'hunt), n. A chase or hunting of 
a fox with hounds. 
fox-hunt (foks'hunt), t. . [< fox-hunt, n.] To 
hunt foxes with hounds. 
I have engaged a large party to come here . . . and stay 
a month to/ox-hunt. Duke of Richmond, To Burke. 
He fox-hunted wherever foxes were to be found. 
Christian Union, March 31, 1SS7. 
fox-hunter (foks'hun"ter), n. One who hunts 
or pursues foxes with hounds, 
fox-hunting (foks'hun'ting), . and a. I. n. 
The sport of hunting the fox. 
II. a. Relating to the hunting of the fox ; 
having the tastes or habits of a fox-hunter. 
Cowper himself, ... in poems revised by so austere a 
censor as John Newton, calls a fox-hunting squire Nim- 
rod. Macattlay, Comic Dramatists of the Kestoration. 
foxiness 1 (fok'si-nes), . [<foxyl + -ness.} The 
state or character of being foxy, (a) The state or 
quality of being fox-like, or cunning like a fox ; wiliness ; 
cunning ; craftiness, (b) The quality of having a peculiar 
penetrating, sweet, musky, and somewhat sickish taste and 
smell, as some American grapes. 
foxiness 2 (fok'si-nes), . [</oxy 2 + -ness.] 1. 
The state of being foxed, decayed, stained, dis- 
colored, or spotted, as books ; decay. 
Oak timber of the gnarled description, and having some 
figure in the grain, is in request for articles of furniture; 
and even when in a state of decay, or in its worst stage 
of foxiness, the cabinet-maker prizes it for the deep red 
colour. Laslett, Timber, p. 47. 
2. The state or quality of being of a harsh, sour 
taste, as wine or beer. 
foxing (fok'sing), . [Verbal n. of. /b.r*,r.] An 
extra or ornamental surface of skin or leather 
over the upper of a shoe. 
foxish (fok'sish), a. [< ME. foxyshe (= G.fuch- 
sisch); (fox 1 + -ish 1 .] Resembling a fox; es- 
pecially, cunning. [Rare.] 
Among foxys befoxinche of nature; 
Among rauenours thynk for avantage. 
Political Poems, etc. (ed. Furnivall), p. 25. 
foxlyt (foks'li), a. [</ozl + -fyl.] Having the 
qualities of a fox : as, foxly craft. 
So men that /write are, 
And long their lust to haue 
But cannot come thereby, 
-Make wise they would not crane. 
Turberville, A Fox that wold Eate no Grapes. 
fox-moth (foks'moth), n. A rather large cin- 
namon or grayish-brown bombycid moth of 
Europe, Laaioeampa rubi : so called from its 
color. The larva feeds on the heath. 
fox-nosed (foks'nozd), a. Having a snout like 
a fox's : an epithet applied to the lemurs called 
fox-nosed monkeys. 
fox-shark (foks'shark), H. The sea-fox, sea- 
ape, swingletail, or thresher, Alopias milpes, a 
large shark from 12 to 15 feet long, of which 
the tail forms more than half, whence the name. 
It is of a bluish lead-color above and white be- 
neath. See cut under Alopias. 
foxship (foks'ship), n. [(fox 1 + -ship.] The 
character or qualities of a fox ; cunning. 
Hadst thou/MAi> 
To banish him that struck more blows for Rome 
Than thou hast spoken words? Shak., Cor., iv. 2. 
fox-sleep (foks'slep), it. A feigned sleep. 
fox-snake (foks'snak), n. A large harmless 
serpent of the United States, Coluber vulpinus, 
of a light-brown color with squarish chocolate 
blotches. 
fox-sparrow(foks'spar"6), . Afringilline bird 
of North America, belonging to the genus Pas- 
serella: so called from the rusty-reddish or 
foxy color of the common species. The common 
species, P. iliaca, is found throughout eastern parts of 
North America. It is one of the largest and handsomest 
of the sparrows, 6J inches long and 11 in extent of wings ; 
it is reddish above, more or less obscured with gray, white 
below, blotched and streaked with reddish, and has two 
2356 
Whitish Wing-bomb and a yellowish lower mandible. It 
is a fine songster. It breeds in British America, is migra- 
tor\. amiwintiTs inthe Middh- Slate- anil southward. It 
nests indifferently in bushes or on thr -rountl. an.l lays 
^n-rnish-wliite eggs thickly spi-rkli-d with rusty In-own. 
>r\ ] al varieties of the fox-sparrow inhabit western parts 
of the continent, all of them less toxy in color than the 
typical P. iliaca. Also called /<. -Jimii. 
fox-squirrel (foks'skwui-'el), . The largest 
true arboreal squirrel of eastern North America. 
It is about 12 inches long (the tail being as much more), 
and varies in color from black, with wliite nose and ears, 
through various shades of reddish, rusty brown, ami ^ra\ . 
The rars are not tufted. It is much lancer and otherwise 
distinct from the ordinary gray ami re.l squirrels, and 
its several varieties or subspecies have received different 
names. The rusty and grayish form is Sciurtu cinereu*. 
the northern fox-squirrel ; the black is .S'. niitrr, the south- 
em fox-squirrel ; the strongly reddish form of the Missis- 
sippi region is S. ludocicianus, the western fox-squirrel. 
Also called cat-squirrel. 
foxtail (foks'tal), ii. 1. The tail of a fox. Itwas 
anciently one of the badges of a fool. [Prop- 
erly fox-tail.] 2. One of various species of 
grass with soft brush-like spikes of flowers, es- 
pecially of the genus Alopecarus, and also of the 
genera Setaria and (in Jamaica) Andropogon. 
The meadow-foxtail is Alopecuru* pratenxis ; the slender 
foxtail, A. agrestis; the water-foxtail, A.genictdatus; the 
bristly foxtail, Setaria glauca ; and the green foxtail, S. 
viridis. Also foxtail-grass. 
3. A club-moss, Lycopodinm clavatum. [Prov. 
Eng.] 
That plant which in our dale 
We call Stag's.horn or Fox's tail. 
Wordsmirth. 
4. In metal., the cinder, of a more or less cy- 
lindrical form and hollow in the center, obtain- 
ed in the last stage of the charcoal-finery pro- 
cess Foxtail wedge. Same as fax-wedge.- Foxtail 
wedding, in joinery, a method of fastening performed by 
sticking into the point of a wooden bolt a thin wedge of 
hard wood, which, when the bolt reaches the bottom of the 
hole, splits the bolt, expands it, and thus secures it. See 
fox-bolt OLU&fox-iredge. To give one a flap with a fox- 
tallt, to deceive or make a fool of him. 
A flap unth a foxe-taile, a jest. Floritt. 
fox-tailed (foks'tald), a. Having a tail like that 
of a fox. 
foxtail-grass (foks'tal-gras), . Same as fox- 
tail, 2. 
foxtongue (foks'tung), . The hart's-tongue 
fern, Scolopendrium vulgare. [Ireland.] 
fox-trap (foks'trap), n. A trap, gin, or snare 
designed to catch foxes. 
fox-trot (foks'trot), n. A pace, as of a horse, 
consisting of a series of short steps, usually 
adopted in breaking from a walk into a trot, or 
in slackening from a trot to a walk. 
She heard a horse approaching at a fox-trot. 
The Century, XXXVI. 897. 
Fox-type (foks'tlp), . [Named from H. Foi 
Talbot, whose surname was already employed 
in the term talbotype, q. v.] 1. A photolitho- 
graphic process in which the negative is printed 
on a gelatin film, the unaltered gelatin washed 
away, and an electrotype made from the result- 
ing image. Also called Fox-Talbot process. 
2. A picture produced by this process. 
fox-wedge (foks'wej), n. In carp., etc., a thin 
wedge of hard wood inserted in the point of a 
wooden pin or tenon to be driven into a hole 
which is not bored through. When the back of the 
wedge reaches the bottom of the hole, it is forced into the 
pin, and spreads its end so that it cannot be withdrawn 
from the hole. Also called foxtail wedge, nose-key. Com- 
pare fox-bolt , and/oa:fn*7 uvdfjing, under foxtail. 
fox-wolf (foks'wulf), n. One of the South 
American canine quadrupeds of the genera Ly- 
calopex and Pseudalopex, which resemble both 
foxes and wolves. 
foxwpod (foks'vvud), 11. [< /<ix 2 + wood 1 ; cf. 
foxfire.'] Foxed wood ; decayed wood, espe- 
cially such as emits a phosphorescent light. 
[U. S.] 
fpxy 1 (fok'si), a. [</fl + -fl.] 1. Pertain- 
ing to or characteristic of foxes; resembling 
or suggestive of a fox; hence, tricky; given to 
cunning or subtle artifice. 
frache 
Oh, J'"Xfi i'llaiisay. that is thy leueli. of whirh Christ so 
ilili-riitly bad vs beware. '1'i/ndale, Works, p. 148. 
Henceforward rarely could she front in hall, 
Or elsewhere, Modred's narrow. I'oxii face. 
Tenn/fson, Guinevere. 
2. Of the color of the common red fox; rufous ; 
i-i'ildish; ferrugineous. 
That l-stylc] of Titian, which may be called the Uoldcn 
manner, when unskilfully managed becomes what the 
painters call Foxy. Sir J. Reynolds, Note on Dufresnoy. 
His frosted earlocks, striped with/wry brown. 
Lowell, i'itz Adam's Story. 
H"- was ayonn-ish fellow, with/oar*/ whiskers under bis 
i liin. E. Eggleston, The Graysons, xix. 
3. Having the peculiar sickish-sweet taste and 
smell of the American fox-grape, illustrated in 
the familiar Concord grape. 
foxy- (fok'si), a. [< fox% + -y 1 ; or a particu- 
lar use ot foxy 1 , with ref. o/o.r 2 .] 1. Sour: 
said of wine, beer, etc., which has soured in the 
course of fermentation. 2. Discolored, as by 
decay ; stained ; foxed. See foxed, specifically 
applied in dyeing to colors which assume an undesirable 
rc'lilish shade, due to insufficient soaping or chemicking. 
foyH (foi), 11. [< OF. foy, foi (F.foi), earlier fei, 
fciil, faith, > E. fay* and faith, q. v.] Faith ; 
allegiance. 
He Easterland subdewd, and Denmarke wonne, 
And of them lioth did/oy and tribute raise. 
Spenser, . Q.,11. x. 41. 
foy 2 t (foi), . [< OD. foey, a compact (Kilian), 
< OF. foy, foi, faith : see foy 1 .] A feast given 
by a person who is about to make a journey or 
who has just returned. 
He did at the Dog give me and some other friends of his 
his/oj/, he being to set sail to-day. Pepyt, Diary, I. 236. 
foy 3 t, " [Origin obscure.] Some sort of cheat 
or swindler. Dames. 
Thou you be crossbites, foys, and nips, yet you are not 
good lifts. 
Greene, Thieves Falling Out (Harl. Misc., VIII. 389). 
foyaite (foi'a-It), . [< Foya, a locality in Por- 
tugal, T -it(&.] Same as el<Eolite-sye>/il< . 
foyalt, . 8ee/o/. 
foyer (fwo-ya'), . [P., hearth, fireside, green- 
room, lobby of a theater, focus, etc., < ML. fo- 
carius, hearth, prop, adj., < L. focus, hearth, 
fireplace (> F. feu, fire): see focus.] 1. In the- 
aters, opera-houses, etc., a public room at or 
near the entrance next to or comprising the 
lobby: often, as in the Grand Opera at Paris, 
a magnificent saloon, elaborately decorated. 
We met next in the foyer of the opera, between acts of 
Traviata. T. Winthrop, Canoe and Saddle, v. 
2. In a furnace, the crucible or basin which 
holds the molten metal. 
foylet. An obsolete form of foil 1 , foi&. 
foynt, *'. A variant otfoin 1 . 
foysont, " An obsolete form offoison. 
foze (foz), r. i. ; pret. and pp. fozed, ppr. foxing. 
[Sc., perhaps connected with E. fust 2 , fusty, 
foist-, etc.] To become moldy; lose flavor. 
foziness (fo'zi-nes), n. The state or quality of 
being fozy; sponginess; softness; hence, want 
of stamina; want of spirit; dullness. [Scotch.] 
The weak and young Whigs have become middle-aged, 
and their foziness can no longer be concealed. 
Blackwood's Mag., Dec., 1821, p. 753. 
fozy (fo'zi), a. [Ct.foze.] Spongy; soft; fat 
and puffy. [Prov. Eng. and Scotch.] 
ft). An abbreviation of forte-piano. 
f. P. A. An abbreviation of free of particular 
average, a phrase of frequent use in marine in- 
surance. See arerage%. 
Fr. An abbreviation of French. 
frat , prep, and adr. Same as fro. 
frab (frab), r. t. ; pret. and pp. frabbed, ppr. 
frabbiiiff. [E. dial. ; origin obscure.] To worry; 
harass. 
I was not kind to you ; I frabbed you and plagued you 
from the first, my lamb. 31 rt. Gatkell, Ruth, xxxvi. 
frabbit (frab'it), a. [< frab + -it* = -e(ft.] Pee- 
vish. Mrs. Gaskell. 
fracas (fra'kas; F. pron. fra-ka'), it. [F. ( = 
Sp./rarao = Pg. It.fracasso), an uproar, crash, 
< fracassei- = Sp. fracasar = Pg. fracassar, < It. 
fracassare, break in pieces, destroy, <fra, with- 
in, amidst, in, upon (prob. shortened from L. 
infra, within), + cassare, < L. quassare, shatter, 
break, intensive of quatere, shake: see cash 1 , 
cass 1 , and qna^li.] A disorderly noise or up- 
roar ; a brawl or noisy quarrel; a disturbance. 
Officers of the earl's household, livery-men and retainers, 
went and came with all the insolent fracas which attaches 
to their profession. Scott, Kenilworth, vii. 
frache (frash), n. [A technical term, of uncer- 
tain origin ; perhaps (?) < F. fraiche, fern, of 
frais, fresh, cool.] In giant-works, an iron pan 
