What does a fox say

1. Pop-culture origin: a novelty song that asks the question

The most direct answer in the provided materials is that "What does the fox say?" is the central refrain of Ylvis’s 2013 novelty song "The Fox (What Does The Fox Say?)"; Genius reproduces the lyrics that list common animal sounds—"Dog goes 'woof', cat goes 'meow'…"—before asking "What does the fox say?" as its chorus ^[1]. The line functions as a comedic device: after naming familiar noises, the song playfully points out a perceived mystery about the fox’s sound ^[1].

2. The song as cultural shorthand and meme

The lyric's repetitive, absurd hook turned into a cultural meme and shorthand for posing a silly or rhetorical question—Genius’s lyric page shows the structure that made the chorus catchy and memetic: straightforward animal noises followed by the unanswered question about the fox ^[1]. The provided sources treat the phrase primarily as entertainment content rather than as a factual claim about zoology ^[1].

3. What the song actually says (lyrical content)

Genius’s transcription reproduces the song’s verses and chorus verbatim: it lists animal sounds (dog "woof", cat "meow", bird "tweet", mouse "squeak", cow "moo", frog "croak", elephant "toot", ducks "quack", fish "blub", seal "ow ow ow") and then repeats "What does the fox say?"—this is the exact lyrical framing found in the source ^[1]. The lyrics do not supply a single realistic fox vocalization; instead, the song invents playful, electronic sounds as pseudo-answers in later lines (not detailed in the supplied snippet but part of the recorded song) ^[1].

4. What’s missing from these sources: real fox vocalizations

The search results provided do not include scientific, wildlife, or natural history reporting about real fox calls or onomatopoeia. Therefore, available sources do not mention actual fox sounds such as barks, screams, or gekkering, nor do they attempt to verify whether the song’s invented sounds reflect reality (not found in current reporting).

5. How to interpret the question in context

When someone asks "What does a fox say?" in light of these sources, the neutral interpretation is cultural: they are most likely referencing the Ylvis song and its rhetorical hook rather than seeking a biology lesson—Genius’s lyric page documents the song’s comedic structure that built a pop-cultural reference point ^[1]. If the intent is zoological, the current reporting supplied does not answer that; additional, domain-specific sources would be needed.

6. Competing viewpoints or uses of the phrase

Within the provided materials there is no competing news or scholarly debate about the phrase; the coverage is entertainment-oriented and singularly anchored to the song ^[1]. Broader meanings—such as metaphorical uses or political appropriation—are not present in the supplied results, so available sources do not mention alternative high-profile uses (not found in current reporting).

7. Takeaway and next steps for readers wanting factual detail

If you want the pop-culture answer: the phrase is the chorus question of Ylvis’s novelty song, documented in lyric repositories like Genius ^[1]. If you want the biological answer—what sounds foxes actually make—you will need sources beyond those provided here; the current search results do not cover fox vocal behavior or wildlife biology (not found in current reporting).