poacher turned gamekeeper

English

Etymology

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 […] "

Pronunciation

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Noun

poacher turned gamekeeper (plural poachers turned gamekeepers)

1. (idiomatic, figurative) A person now charged with protecting what they formerly preyed upon.

   Synonym: wolf guarding the sheep

   • 1877, Mayne Reid, Gwen Wynn: A Romance of the Wye‎^[2], volume III, Tinsley Brothers, page 71:

     Ah! poacher turned gamekeeper! That be settin' thief to catch thief!

   • 1938, The Strand Magazine‎^[3], volume 95, page 373:

     When President Roosevelt appointed Kennedy to the Securities Exchange Commission, he was acting on the "poacher turned gamekeeper" principle.

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

See also

• fox guarding the henhouse
• fox in the henhouse
• it takes one to know one
• lunatics have taken over the asylum
• set a thief to catch a thief