Dictionary

sacred cow en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (Australia) audio

Etymology

Originally American English (early 1900s), a reference to the elevated place of cows in Hinduism.

Meanings

1. (idiomatic) Something which cannot be tampered with, or criticized, for fear of public outcry. A person, institution, belief system, etc. which, for no reason other than the demands of established social etiquette or popular opinion, should be accorded respect or reverence, and not touched, handled or examined too closely.
   • Many sacred cows were milked dry in an unbelievable series of outrageous events. 1965 December, Phil Ochs, “That Was The Year That Weren't”, in Cavalier:
   • And he [Nick Fuentes] can attack what was until recently one of the right’s last true sacred cows: Israel. 2025 November 20, J. Oliver Conroy, “White nationalist Nick Fuentes is exposing a civil war among US Republicans: ‘We look like clowns’”, in The Guardian, →ISSN, archived from the original on 24 Dec 2025:
   • Irreverence is our only sacred cow. 1967, Paul Krassner, The Realist, issue 74, May 1967, front page tagline
   • In my opinion, in order to save serious amounts of money, a number of 'sacred cows' will need slaying. 2022 January 12, Sir Michael Holden, “Reform of the workforce or death by a thousand cuts?”, in RAIL, number 948, page 24:

Forms

Relateds

holy cow · third rail · totem

Translations (13)

he פרה קדושה (something which cannot be tampered with) · fi pyhä lehmä (something which cannot be tampered with) · pl święta krowa (something which cannot be tampered with) · ru свяще́нная коро́ва (something which cannot be tampered with) · el ιερή αγελάδα (something which cannot be tampered with) · hu szent tehén (something which cannot be tampered with) · fr monstre sacré (something which cannot be tampered with) · pt vaca sagrada (something which cannot be tampered with) · es vaca sagrada (something which cannot be tampered with) · fr vache sacrée (something which cannot be tampered with) · de heilige Kuh (something which cannot be tampered with) · sv helig ko (something which cannot be tampered with) · da hellig ko (something which cannot be tampered with)