ENGLISH
REFERENCE

have the tiger by the tail

idiom
Meaning

To be in a difficult or dangerous situation in which one ideally should not remain, but from which one cannot withdraw.


Examples
SIMPLE

He has the tiger by the tail with this new project.

CONTEXTUAL

She realized she had the tiger by the tail when the business deal became too complex to stop or finish.

COMPLEX

By accepting the leadership role during the crisis, he found he had the tiger by the tail, unable to retreat without causing a total collapse.

Anchors to
Related idioms8entries
  1. 01

    chase one's tail

    To busily try to perform many tasks or to repeatedly revise one's plans, especially with inefficient use of one's time and limited results.

  2. 02

    chase tail

    To be on the hunt for a (usually sexual) partner.

  3. 03

    grow a tail

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

  4. 04

    have a tiger by the tail

    To be in a difficult or dangerous situation in which one ideally should not remain, but from which one cannot withdraw.

  5. 05

    have the world by the tail

    To possess great influence and opportunity.

  6. 06

    kick some tail

    To be authoritative and assertive in order to achieve or accomplish something.

  7. 07

    lady or tiger

    A pure gamble with highly divergent outcomes.

  8. 08

    make head or tail of

    To understand even minimally.

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