Sacred cow is an idiom

Idiom

Idiom is an expression, word, or phrase that has a figurative meaning that is comprehended in regard to a common use of that expression that is separate from the literal meaning or definition of the words of which it is made...

, a figurative reference to sacred cows in some religion

Religion

Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...

s. This idiom is thought to originate in American English

American English

American English is a set of dialects of the English language used mostly in the United States. Approximately two-thirds of the world's native speakers of English live in the United States....

, although similar or even identical idioms occur in many other languages.

The idiom is based on the popular understanding of the elevated place of cows in Hinduism

Hinduism

Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...

 and appears to have emerged in America in the late 19th century. A literal sacred cow or sacred bull is an actual cow or bull that is treated with sincere reverence. A figurative sacred cow is something else that is considered immune from question or criticism, especially unreasonably so.

Paradox

There is an element of paradox

Paradox

Similar to Circular reasoning, A paradox is a seemingly true statement or group of statements that lead to a contradiction or a situation which seems to defy logic or intuition...

 in the concept of reverence for a sacred cow, as illustrated in a comment about the novelist V. S. Naipaul

V. S. Naipaul

Sir Vidiadhar Surajprasad "V. S." Naipaul, TC is a Nobel prize-winning Indo-Trinidadian-British writer who is known for his novels focusing on the legacy of the British Empire's colonialism...

: V. S. Naipaul ... has the ability to distinguish the death of an ordinary ox, which, being of concern to no one, may be put quickly out of its agony, from that of a sacred cow, which must be solicitously guarded so that it can die its agonizing death without any interference.

Similar and related idioms

Numerous irreverent witticisms have been published that refer to sacred cows, including:

• "Irreverence is our only sacred cow", motto
  Motto
  A motto is a phrase meant to formally summarize the general motivation or intention of a social group or organization. A motto may be in any language, but Latin is the most used. The local language is usual in the mottoes of governments...
  
   of The Realist
  The Realist
  The Realist was a pioneering magazine of "social-political-religious criticism and satire," intended as a hybrid of a grown-ups version of Mad and Lyle Stuart's anti-censorship monthly The Independent. Edited and published by Paul Krassner, and often regarded as a milestone in the American...
  
  , an irreverent magazine.

• "Holy cow
  Holy cow (expression)
  "Holy cow!" is an exclamation of surprise used mostly in American and Canadian English.From the Dictionary of American Slang :...
  
  " appears to have emerged in the early 20th century.
• "Don't have a cow
  Don't have a cow
  Don't have a cow is a humorous cautionary phrase, dating from the late 1950s at least, possibly of US origin. The metaphoric warning means "don't get so worked up." If one pauses to reflect on the physical aspects of a human being giving birth to a full-grown cow, one can see what this phrase...
  
  " and other variants of "have a cow".
• "Tipping the sacred cow" and similar, a play on cow tipping
  Cow tipping
  Cow tipping or cow pushing is the purported activity of sneaking up on a sleeping, upright cow and pushing it over for fun. As cattle do not sleep standing up, cow tipping is a myth.-Myth and reality:...
  
  .
• "Kick the sacred cow."

See also

• Iconoclasm
  Iconoclasm
  Iconoclasm is the deliberate destruction of religious icons and other symbols or monuments, usually with religious or political motives. It is a frequent component of major political or religious changes...
  
  
• Kick the bucket
  Kick the bucket
  To kick the bucket is an English idiom that is defined as "to die" in the Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue . It is considered a euphemistic, informal, or slang term. Its origin remains unclear, though there have been several theories.-Origin theories:...
  
  
• Literal and figurative language
  Literal and figurative language
  Literal and figurative language is a distinction in traditional systems for analyzing language. Literal language refers to words that do not deviate from their defined meaning. Figurative language refers to words, and groups of words, that exaggerate or alter the usual meanings of the component...
  
  
• Malapropism
  Malapropism
  A malapropism is an act of misusing or the habitual misuse of similar sounding words, especially with humorous results. An example is Yogi Berra's statement: "Texas has a lot of electrical votes," rather than "electoral votes".-Etymology:...
  
  
• Oxymoron
  Oxymoron
  An oxymoron is a figure of speech that combines contradictory terms...
  
  
• Sacred cow (disambiguation)

Further reading

• Sacred cows make the best hamburger, sources on earliest uses