have one's tail up

verb

To be confident, spirited.

“This is incredible stuff from Paraguay now. They have their tails up and are imposing wave after wave of attacks on the Argentina goal.”

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Meanings

verbhave one's tail up (third-person singular simple present has one's tail up, present participle having one's tail up, simple past and past participle had one's tail up)

present singular third person has one's tail up · participle present having one's tail up · participle past had one's tail up · past had one's tail up

  1. To be confident, spirited.

    This is incredible stuff from Paraguay now. They have their tails up and are imposing wave after wave of attacks on the Argentina goal.

Cite this entry
APA

have one's tail up. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/have%20one's%20tail%20up

MLA

“have one's tail up.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/have%20one's%20tail%20up. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “have one's tail up,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/have%20one's%20tail%20up.

Source: have one's tail up on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.