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Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

have a tiger by the tail en · VERB

Pronunciation

Meanings

  1. (idiomatic) To be in a difficult or dangerous situation in which one ideally should not remain, but from which one cannot withdraw.
    • "Sounds like you have a tiger by the tail. Hawthorne won't go down without a battle and will probably sue you if he wins," Clair admonished. 2009, Jack Dalton, A Country Lawyer, Strategic Book Publishing, →ISBN, page 75:

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
having a tiger by the tail Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part lexicographic
has a tiger by the tail Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres lexicographic
had a tiger by the tail Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part lexicographic
had a tiger by the tail Tense=Past lexicographic
have the tiger by the tail alternative lexicographic

Synonyms

have the wolf by the ear