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Sacred cow (idiom)

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27: 395: 85:: "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." 264: 271: 51:
for something considered immune from question or criticism, especially unreasonably so. This idiom is thought to originate in
317: 436: 475: 344: 460: 455: 44: 26: 130: 465: 194:"The Sheltering of Unwanted Cattle, Experiences in India and Implications for Cattle Industries Elsewhere" 20: 429: 305: 107:
was "Irreverence is our only sacred cow". Discordians use the identically pronounced symbol the "
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in the concept of respect for a sacred cow, as illustrated in a comment about the novelist
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The idiom is based on the popular understanding of the elevated place of cows in
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Reading against culture: ideology and narrative in the Japanese novel
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and appears to have emerged in America in the late 19th century.
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is an actual cow or bull that is treated with sincere respect.
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Uttara Kennedy, Arvind Sharma and Clive J.C. Philips (2018).
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Supergrow: essays and reports on imagination in America
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One writer has suggested that there is an element of
297: 265:"Preliminary Literature Review On Sacred Species" 447: 430: 333:DeMott, Benjamin; Berger, Arthur Asa (2003). 175:"Meaning and origin of the phrase sacred cow" 332: 16:Something unreasonably immune from criticism 437: 423: 242: 219: 209: 25: 295: 448: 359: 172: 263:Dr Gloria Pungetti, Dr Anna Maclvor. 88: 389: 19:For other uses of "Sacred cow", see 13: 14: 487: 384: 173:Martin, Gary (11 December 2023). 393: 45:cattle in religion and mythology 360:Cusack, Carole (January 2013). 131:Literal and figurative language 353: 326: 289: 256: 236: 185: 166: 148: 1: 141: 58: 409:. You can help Knowledge by 43:, a figurative reference to 7: 114: 21:Sacred cow (disambiguation) 10: 492: 476:Vocabulary and usage stubs 388: 18: 306:Cornell University Press 70:A literal sacred cow or 461:American English idioms 456:19th-century neologisms 296:Pollack, David (1992). 405:-related article is a 33: 121:Holy cow (expression) 29: 156:"sacred cow meaning" 47:. A sacred cow is a 466:Hinduism and cattle 246:India's sacred cow 211:10.3390/ani8050064 89:In popular culture 34: 418: 417: 319:978-0-8014-8035-5 483: 439: 432: 425: 397: 390: 378: 377: 375: 373: 366:researchgate.net 357: 351: 350: 330: 324: 323: 303: 293: 287: 286: 284: 282: 276: 270:. Archived from 269: 260: 254: 253: 251: 240: 234: 233: 223: 213: 189: 183: 182: 170: 164: 163: 152: 53:American English 49:figure of speech 491: 490: 486: 485: 484: 482: 481: 480: 446: 445: 444: 443: 387: 382: 381: 371: 369: 368:. Research Gate 362:"Discordianism" 358: 354: 347: 331: 327: 320: 294: 290: 280: 278: 277:on 24 July 2021 274: 267: 261: 257: 249: 243:Marvin Harris. 241: 237: 190: 186: 171: 167: 154: 153: 149: 144: 117: 91: 61: 24: 17: 12: 11: 5: 489: 479: 478: 473: 468: 463: 458: 442: 441: 434: 427: 419: 416: 415: 398: 386: 385:External links 383: 380: 379: 352: 345: 325: 318: 288: 255: 235: 184: 165: 146: 145: 143: 140: 139: 138: 133: 128: 123: 116: 113: 90: 87: 60: 57: 15: 9: 6: 4: 3: 2: 488: 477: 474: 472: 471:Discordianism 469: 467: 464: 462: 459: 457: 454: 453: 451: 440: 435: 433: 428: 426: 421: 420: 414: 412: 408: 404: 399: 396: 392: 391: 367: 363: 356: 348: 346:0-7658-0521-9 342: 338: 337: 329: 321: 315: 311: 307: 302: 301: 292: 273: 266: 259: 248: 247: 239: 231: 227: 222: 217: 212: 207: 203: 199: 195: 188: 180: 176: 169: 161: 160:Theidioms.com 157: 151: 147: 137: 134: 132: 129: 127: 124: 122: 119: 118: 112: 110: 106: 105: 100: 96: 86: 84: 83:V. S. Naipaul 80: 75: 73: 68: 66: 56: 54: 50: 46: 42: 38: 32: 28: 22: 411:expanding it 400: 370:. Retrieved 365: 355: 335: 328: 299: 291: 279:. Retrieved 272:the original 258: 245: 238: 201: 197: 187: 179:Phrasefinder 178: 168: 159: 150: 102: 92: 76: 69: 62: 36: 35: 372:22 December 136:Malapropism 109:sacred chao 104:The Realist 72:sacred bull 31:Golden calf 450:Categories 403:vocabulary 308:. p.  142:References 126:Iconoclasm 59:Background 37:Sacred cow 204:(5): 64. 101:magazine 99:satirical 230:29701646 115:See also 65:Hinduism 281:24 July 221:5981275 198:Animals 97:of the 79:paradox 343:  316:  228:  218:  39:is an 401:This 275:(PDF) 268:(PDF) 250:(PDF) 95:motto 41:idiom 407:stub 374:2023 341:ISBN 314:ISBN 283:2021 226:PMID 93:The 310:185 216:PMC 206:doi 111:". 452:: 364:. 312:. 304:. 224:. 214:. 200:. 196:. 177:. 158:. 438:e 431:t 424:v 413:. 376:. 349:. 322:. 285:. 252:. 232:. 208:: 202:8 181:. 162:. 23:.

Index

Sacred cow (disambiguation)

Golden calf
idiom
cattle in religion and mythology
figure of speech
American English
Hinduism
sacred bull
paradox
V. S. Naipaul
motto
satirical
The Realist
sacred chao
Holy cow (expression)
Iconoclasm
Literal and figurative language
Malapropism
"sacred cow meaning"
"Meaning and origin of the phrase sacred cow"
"The Sheltering of Unwanted Cattle, Experiences in India and Implications for Cattle Industries Elsewhere"
doi
10.3390/ani8050064
PMC
5981275
PMID
29701646
India's sacred cow
"Preliminary Literature Review On Sacred Species"

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