tar baby en · NOUN
Etymology
Referring to a doll made of tar and turpentine to entrap Br'er Rabbit in one of Joel Chandler Harris's Uncle Remus stories, published in 1881, from earlier African American folklore, from earlier African (e.g. Kongo) folklore, influenced in America by similar stories from various unrelated Native American tribes, such as the Cherokee, Alabama, Koasati, and Apache. (Similar stories are found throughout the world, e.g. among the Mixtec and Zapotec.)
Meanings
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(US) A difficult, abstract problem that worsens as one attempts to handle it; a sticky situation, especially one where attempts to make it better only make it worse.
If Dees had indicated any willingness to personally pursue the case, Ed would've immediately had him appointed as a special prosecutor and turned this tar baby of a case over to him on the spot.
2001, Bobby Delaughter, Never Too Late: A Prosecutor's Story of Justice in the Medgar Evars Case, page 75:2006, Mitt Romney, quoted in "Romney apologizes for calling Big Dig 'tar baby'", July 31, 2006, WISTV.com Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney is apologizing for referring to the troubled Big Dig construction project as a "tar baby." / Romney made the comment during a speech at a fund-raiser with Iowa Republicans on Saturday. Romney told the crowd "The best thing politically would be to stay as far away from that tar baby as I can."
- (derogatory, ethnic, slang, slur) A black person.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| tar babies | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Relateds
tarpit · glue trap · tar pit · sticky wicket · quicksand · hot potato · hydra · hot mess · quagmire · black hole