have a tiger by the tail

verb

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

Similar
have the wolf by the ear
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Meanings

verbhave a tiger by the tail (third-person singular simple present has a tiger by the tail, present participle having a tiger by the tail, simple past and past participle had a tiger by the tail)

present singular third person has a tiger by the tail · participle present having a tiger by the tail · participle past had a tiger by the tail · past had a tiger by the tail · alternative have the tiger by the tail

  1. idiomaticTo 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

    Synonyms: have the wolf by the ear

Synonyms & antonyms

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

Similar
have the wolf by the ear
Also see
have the wolf by the ear
Cite this entry
APA

have a tiger by the tail. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/have%20a%20tiger%20by%20the%20tail

MLA

“have a tiger by the tail.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/have%20a%20tiger%20by%20the%20tail. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “have a tiger by the tail,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/have%20a%20tiger%20by%20the%20tail.

Source: have a tiger by the tail on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.