poacher turned gamekeeper

短语

发音

AU

词形变化

poachers turned gamekeepers 复数 poachers turned gamekeepers

释义与例句

n.
  1. 1.

    A person now charged with protecting what they formerly preyed upon.

    比喻 习语
  2. 2.

    Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see poacher, turned, gamekeeper.

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 […] "

来源：wiktionary