poacher turned gamekeeper

名词 n.
中文释义

英文释义

名词 n.
  1. A person now charged with protecting what they formerly preyed upon. figuratively,idiomatic
    — Ah! poacher turned gamekeeper! That be settin' thief to catch thief!
  2. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see poacher, turned, gamekeeper.

词形变化

poachers turned gamekeepers plural

词源

The figurative sense is by self-evident metaphor from the literal sense. The thought of poachers turned gamekeepers goes back centuries; for example, William Tinsley said in his memoirs that "There is an old saying that the most expert poachers make the best gamekeepers. I do not think the saying is true as a rule […]".
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