Fooled by a Fox

More foxy expressions for you today.

狐にだまされた or 狐につままれた both mean to be bewitched or fooled by foxes.

As I wrote in my previous post, Japanese folktales often tell of people being bewitched, tricked and fooled by foxes. Sometimes you might even hear a first-hand account. My girlfriend's grandfather for instance, used to live out in a semi-rural area with lots of wild beasties, foxes and tanukis around. He said that he saw a fox sitting in his garden one night that gave him a look, then twitched it's brush to the left. After that, no matter how hard he tried, he could not get out of that garden! Even though he could see the gate, he just couldn't seem to reach it. Giving up, he sat on a stone and waited and waited and finally he noticed the fox was back again. It looked at him, twitched it's tale to the right and after that the old man got up and out through the gate without any problem at all. What fascinated me when I heard this story, was how similar it was to stories of inescapable fairy fields and fairy rings as told to me by my Irish relatives. But, I digress! Back to the language. Outside of folktale and legend to be fooled by foxes is usually used in a figurative way, when something you felt certain to be true turns out to be a total misapprehension. Here's an example my colleague Kou-sensei gave me today:

どこかへ出かけて財布を忘れた。持っていると信じていたのに。狐にだまされたみたい。

I went out somewhere today but forgot to bring my wallet. I really thought I had it with me. It's as if I was tricked by the foxes!