sting in the tail

noun

Something surprising and unpleasant that concludes a chain of events.

“The Budget comes with a sting in the tail – future tax increases.”

Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

nounsting in the tail (plural stings in the tail or stings in tails)

plural stings in the tail · plural stings in tails

  1. Something surprising and unpleasant that concludes a chain of events.

    The Budget comes with a sting in the tail – future tax increases.

    1 more example

    The sting in the tail is that an appropriate level of service could be far lower than we see today. With funding best described as tight, we look to be entering a painful period for rail.

    2022 December 14, Philip Haigh, “Comment: Tightening the purse strings”, in RAIL, number 972, page 3
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

Source: sting in the tail on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.