sacred cows
Ideas above criticism
Sacred cows are beliefs, institutions, or practices considered immune from criticism or questioning.
The term comes from Hindu reverence for cattle, applied metaphorically to anything treated as untouchable: Social Security is a sacred cow in American politics.
To call something a sacred cow usually implies skepticism—that the protection is unwarranted and the thing should be open to challenge.
- inviolableImpossible to breach
- off limitsProhibited from access
- holyDedicated to the divine
- bovineOf the cattle family
- conventionsAccepted social practices
revered · golden calf · cherished · pet project · beyond reproach · taboo · don't go there · criticism · icon · untouchable · unquestionable · dogma · unwritten rules · sacrilege · profane · tradition · venerated · third rail
- animal worshipcat worship, Anubis, Bastet, Ganesh, Garuda
- IndiaDelhi, Ganges, Mumbai, Taj Mahal, Punjab
- HinduismVishnu, Shiva, Krishna, Ganesh, Ganesha
- South Asian culturecaste system, Hinduism, joint family, varna, dowry
- livestockcows, cattle, bull, bulls, pig
- animal ethicsanimal ethics, animal welfare, animal rights, animal protection, animal liberation
sacred cowsfair game
Legitimate object of pursuit
punching bags · whipping boys · open season · easy targets · soft targets
sacred cowspariahs
Socially rejected individuals
untouchables · outcasts · anathema · taboo subjects · laughingstocks
sacred cowsheresies
Beliefs opposing official doctrine
thoughtcrimes · third rails · heterodoxy · apostasy · blasphemies
cow, sacred, consecrate, desecrate, sacredness, consecration, consecrated, desecration, holy cow