Trial and Error

By DawnC

Mr Reynard

Spotted in a pub; bet you can't guess the name of said establishment.

A bit of foxy etymology:
The word fox was inherited from Old English, itself from Proto-Germanic *fuhsaz; compare West Frisian foks, Dutch vos, and German Fuchs. This in turn derives from Proto-Indo-European *puḱ- ‘thick-haired; tail’, which also gave Hindi pūch ‘tail’, Tocharian B päkā ‘tail; chowrie’, and Lithuanian paustìs ‘fur’. The bushy tail also forms the basis for the fox's Welsh name, llwynog, literally ‘bushy’, from llwyn ‘bush’. Likewise, Portuguese: raposa from rabo ‘tail’, Lithuanian uodẽgis from uodegà ‘tail’, and Ojibwa waagosh from waa, which refers to the up and down "bounce" or flickering of an animal or its tail. Male foxes are known as dogs, tods or reynards, females as vixens, and young as cubs, pups, or kits. A group of foxes is referred to as a skulk, leash, troop, or earth.

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