# grow a tail

idiom

Source: https://englishreference.com/idiom/grow-a-tail
Updated: 2026-08-10

## Meaning

to be nearly about to defecate, to the point of being unable to completely hold it in

## Examples

- I need a bathroom fast because I am starting to grow a tail.
- Pull the car over now because I am growing a tail.
- The traffic jam lasted for hours, and I was really starting to grow a tail by the time we reached the exit.
- The runner sprinted toward the portable toilets after the race because he felt like he was about to grow a tail.
- She regretted drinking that extra cup of coffee during the long meeting when she realized she was starting to grow a tail.
- After consuming the questionable street food, he realized with mounting panic that he was beginning to grow a tail and desperately scanned the street for a public restroom.

## Origin

The idiom is a metaphor concerning the proximity of the human anus to the anatomical position of a tail. Growing in this context denotes the partial expulsion of faeces when an individual attempts to prevent the act, creating a physical protrusion that mimics the development of a temporary appendage.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.