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

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

    "We have the tiger by the tail," Paul whispered. "We can't go down, can't land…and I don't think I can lift us out of this. We'll have to ride it out."

    1965 October 1, Frank Herbert, “Book II: Muad’Dib”, in Dune, Philadelphia, Pa.: Chilton Book Company; [Toronto], Ont.: Thomas Nelson & Sons, →OCLC, page 225

    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
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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