# have the wolf by the ear

idiom

Source: https://englishreference.com/idiom/have-the-wolf-by-the-ear
Updated: 2026-08-10

## Meaning

To be in a dangerous situation from which one cannot disengage, but in which one cannot safely remain.

## Examples

- He has the wolf by the ear and cannot leave.
- The manager has the wolf by the ear, as firing the employee will cause a strike, but keeping him is ruining the team.
- The whistleblower realized she had the wolf by the ear; she could not stop the investigation now, but staying at the company put her career in constant danger.
- Caught between a failing economy and the threat of civil unrest, the government finds itself with the wolf by the ear, unable to retreat or advance without risking catastrophe.

## Origin

Initially attributed to Roman Emperor Tiberius circa year 1 AD by biographer C. Suetonius Tranquillus. United States, 1820, Thomas Jefferson, writing about the institution of slavery and the Missouri Compromise: : "But, as it is, we have the wolf by the ear, and we can neither hold him nor safely let him go. Justice is in one scale, and self-preservation in the other." :: — Thomas Jefferson to John Holmes (discussing slavery and the Missouri question), Monticello, 22 April 1820

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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.