A wolf in sheep’s clothing is an idiom that is thousands of years old. We will examine the meaning of the idiom a wolf in sheep’s clothing, where it came from, and some examples of its use in sentences.
A wolf in sheep’s clothing is someone who appears to be friendly and to be concerned with your best interest, but who actually has hidden motives to take advantage of you or use you in some manner. The idiom a wolf in sheep’s clothing has its origins in an Aesop fable, in which a wolf wears a sheep skin in order to blend into the flock of sheep and make hunting easier. The idiom wolf in sheep’s clothing is also found in the New Testament, Matthew 7:15: “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.” Notice that the word sheep’s is a possessive, and requires an apostrophe.
Examples
Wasserman Schultz, asked about Republican Sen. Rick Scott’s recent effort to pass a TPS bill in the U.S. Senate with an amendment that overhauls the program to make it easier to end current designations, called Scott a “wolf in sheep’s clothing.” (The Miami Herald)
So, keep up to date with ways you can limit your consumption, get creative with what you have and be weary of the tempting world of fast fashion that is, truly, a wolf in sheep’s clothing. (The Daily Campus)
“Never mind wolf in sheep’s clothing, Lady Hale is a rotweiler [sic] masquerading as a grandmother.” (The Washington Examiner)