fox terrier

plural fox terriers

1. Either of two breeds of dog (the smooth fox terrier and the wire fox terrier) bred for fox hunting.

   It was a relief to escape from the silence of those empty rooms, where she had only the sleepy Persian cat or the hyper-intelligent fox terrier for company.

   1893 February 2, The Leader, Melbourne, page 37, column 2

   2 more examples

   One morning I had been driven to the precarious refuge afforded by the steps of the inn, after rejecting offers from the Celebrity to join him in a variety of amusements. But even here I was not free from interruption, for he was seated on a horse-block below me, playing with a fox terrier.

   1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter IV, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC, pages 46–47

   After our fox-terrier had killed several of the Stationmaster's chickens and a peace offering had been made by my father in the form of cigars, I found that the way had been made clear for me to visit the junction box, and what a thrill it was.

   1948 March and April, 'Aella', “First Steps in a Railway Career”, in Railway Magazine, page 91

   Synonyms: foxie