Sacred cow (idiom)

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For other uses of "Sacred cow", see Sacred cow (disambiguation).
Golden calf

Sacred cow is an

better source needed] This idiom is thought to originate in American English
, although similar or even identical idioms occur in many other languages.

Background

The idiom is based on the popular understanding of the elevated place of cows in Hinduism and appears to have emerged in America in the late 19th century.[2][3][4][5]

A literal sacred cow or sacred bull is an actual cow or bull that is treated with sincere respect.

One writer has suggested that there is an element of paradox in the concept of respect for a sacred cow, as illustrated in a comment about the novelist V. S. Naipaul: "V. S. Naipaul ... has the ability to distinguish the death of an ordinary ox, which, being of concern to no one, may be put quickly out of its agony, from that of a sacred cow, which must be solicitously guarded so that it can die its agonizing death without any interference."[6]

In popular culture

The

sacred chao".[8]

See also

References

  1. ^ "sacred cow meaning". Theidioms.com.
  2. ^ Martin, Gary. "Meaning and origin of the phrase sacred cow". Phrasefinder.
  3. PMID 29701646
    .
  4. ^ Marvin Harris. India's sacred cow (PDF).
  5. ^ Dr Gloria Pungetti, Dr Anna Maclvor. "Preliminary Literature Review On Sacred Species" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 July 2021. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  6. ISBN 978-0-8014-8035-5
    .
  7. ISBN 0-7658-0521-9
    .
  8. ^ Cusack, Carole (January 2013). "Discordianism". researchgate.net. Research Gate. Retrieved 22 December 2023.

External links

Look up sacred cow in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
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