Meanings
- Defeated; in a cowardly or miserable manner.
He came back home, tail between his legs.
3 more examples
"I wouldn't do that," said Mrs. MacAndrew. "I'd give him all the rope he wants. He'll come back with his tail between his legs and settle down again quite comfortably."
1919, W[illiam] Somerset Maugham, chapter XV, in The Moon and Sixpence, [New York, N.Y.]: Grosset & Dunlap Publishers […], →OCLCHe [John du Lys] told the city fathers that Charles VII had promised him a hundred livres but the Royal Treasurer, either misinformed or dishonest, had given him only twenty; so he was requesting the balance of eighty from the municipality. He got only twelve, and went off with his tail between his legs.
1973, Henri Guillemin, translated by Harold J. Salemson, “Recertification”, in Joan, Maid of Orléans, New York, N.Y.: Saturday Review Press, →ISBN, page 223After 11 seasons set in Seattle[…] Frasier is returning to Boston, to reconquer his old Cheers-era stomping ground. “He left with his tail between his legs a little bit,” Grammer said in a recent interview.
2023 February 27, Elle Hunt, quoting Kelsey Grammer, “‘Don’t make Frasier best friends with Elon Musk!’ Writers and comics offer their reboot tips”, in The Guardian, →ISSN - Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see tail, between, one's, legs.
Oft haue I ſeene a hot ore-weening Curre / Run backe and bite, becauſe he was with-held, / Who being ſuffer'd with the Beares fell paw, / Hath clapt his taile, between his legges and cride,
1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Second Part of Henry the Sixt, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies. […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene i], page 144
Origin
From the body posture of a dog that is worried or frightened.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Dutch de staart tussen de benen
- de staart tussen de benendefeated; in a cowardly or miserable manner
Finnish häntä koipien välissä
- häntä koipien välissädefeated; in a cowardly or miserable manner
French la queue entre les jambes
- la queue entre les jambesdefeated; in a cowardly or miserable manner
Hebrew זְנָבוֹ בֵּין רַגְלָיו
- זְנָבוֹ בֵּין רַגְלָיו (znavó bēn ragláv)defeated; in a cowardly or miserable manner
Polish z uszami spuszczonymi po sobie, z podwiniętym ogonem
- z uszami spuszczonymi po sobiedefeated; in a cowardly or miserable manner
- z podwiniętym ogonemdefeated; in a cowardly or miserable manner
Portuguese com o rabo entre as pernas, meter o rabo entre as pernas
- com o rabo entre as pernasdefeated; in a cowardly or miserable manner
- meter o rabo entre as pernasdefeated; in a cowardly or miserable manner
Russian поджа́в хвост
- поджа́в хвост (podžáv xvost)defeated; in a cowardly or miserable manner
Spanish con la cola entre las piernas, con la cola entre las patas
- con la cola entre las piernasdefeated; in a cowardly or miserable manner
- con la cola entre las patasdefeated; in a cowardly or miserable manner
- con el rabo entre las piernasdefeated; in a cowardly or miserable manner
- con el rabo entre las patasdefeated; in a cowardly or miserable manner
Swedish med svansen mellan benen
- med svansen mellan benendefeated; in a cowardly or miserable manner
Tagalog bahag ang buntot
- bahag ang buntotdefeated; in a cowardly or miserable manner
Thai หางจุกตูด
- หางจุกตูด (hǎang-jùk-dtùut)defeated; in a cowardly or miserable manner
Cite this entry
tail between one's legs. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tail%20between%20one's%20legs
“tail between one's legs.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tail%20between%20one's%20legs. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “tail between one's legs,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tail%20between%20one's%20legs.
Source: tail between one's legs on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.