by Suby the Coat on July 19th, 2009

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What does the phrase 'Tiger by the tail' really mean?

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by Nice Guy In Bay Area on July 19th, 2009
To have a tiger by the tail means that you have taken hold of a very dangerous thing that has teeth, claws and other dangers in it that can hurt you. I am speeking figuratively, but you have a hold of it and you cannot let go without getting hurt. Yet, the longer you hold on, the harder things are and the greater the danger.
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- And the Tiger wins in the end.
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  by Tom 47 is back in his bear COAT on July 19th, 2009
- Lols. Ever caught a tiger by the tail?
  +6.
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  by Suby the Coat on July 19th, 2009
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by Tom 47 is back in his bear COAT on July 19th, 2009
It means you are about to be dead meat. Your holding on to the Tiger's tail with a death grip is just prolonging the inevitable. The US had the "Tiger by the tail" in Vietnam for thirteen years. Get the picture? We won every battle, at least the grunts did, but we lost the war. We had to let go of the Tiger's tail. It was a laughable and humorous thing to all other countries, even to some of our presumed "allies". It was not funny to the grunts who had to play the game by the rules their own government had given them. I made a list once of friends I lost during that farce, beginning with kids I had known since childhood, plus all I lost that I had only known for a few months. It is a very long list. I have unhealed scars and unforgiven hatreds even yet. And all the hatreds are not for the "enemy".
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- Thats what happens when you hold a tiger by its tail, Tom. As long as you don't let go of it's tail the tiger will keep circling trying to catch you. But as the tiger is physically stronger you must keep circling with the tiger holding on to its tail to escape its bite. Trouble is you can neither hold on to the tiger's tail forever, keep circling with the tiger and stay out of range of its fangs.
  It is indeed a comical situation for people who watch. But the watchers will not come to the rescue of the man holding the tiger's tail. They will simply laugh out loud enjoying every bit of the action.
  The ineveitable result is what you just described in your answer.
  Thank you. +6.
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  by Suby the Coat on July 19th, 2009
- Tom: Jewel is already at the egg center.
  http://www.answerbag.com/a_view/7148176
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  by Suby the Coat on July 19th, 2009
- Oh, I am following you two around!
  Tom, being of the same age and era and married to a Viet Nam vet for most of my life, I understand and agree. It was a no win situation set up by our own. I also lost many and no one could understand why I was inconsolable when we went into Iraq. It looks so much like Nam and I have so many huge unhealed wounds in my soul from the past. I guess it is just something we get to carry on with us to whatever is next.
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  by Jewel on July 19th, 2009
- Thanks, Jewel. I know every generation had its tragedies, my father's and grandfather's. But, they had a feeling that they had accomplished something necessary, and that the sacrifices were at least 'for' something important to us all. We were only left with futility...and waste. Many cannot understand how we felt then or now. I simply avoid talking about it. I never mention that I had even served unless asked. And I almost never tell the truth. "Oh, I was a sort of supply clerk" or some BS. Anyway, I do try not to dwell on it. But the present is such a reminder now that it is difficult. I groaned when we went into Iraq. I heard a "hound from hell". If people like me can see the mistakes, why in God's name can the
  best and brightest" not see them? End of speech.
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  by Tom 47 is back in his bear COAT on July 19th, 2009
- <>sad<>
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  by Suby the Coat on July 19th, 2009
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by Dmitri on July 19th, 2009
To have bested someone by mastering or at least grasping their weaknesses. I believe Little Black Sambo did that. Or was that Mowgli? :)
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- Mowgli
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  by Nice Guy In Bay Area on July 19th, 2009
- Thanks. I always did love that vulture song. :)
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  by Dmitri on July 19th, 2009
- Yes, it was good. Especially, since they patterned the vultures after the then popular group the Beattles.
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  by Nice Guy In Bay Area on July 19th, 2009
- +6 Dmitri, though that is not the connotation that I know.
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  by Tom 47 is back in his bear COAT on July 19th, 2009
- Did not know that, FOC. I wish I could read minds . . . :)
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  by Dmitri on July 19th, 2009
- A group of vultures, in a 1960s movie, who sing,have Beattle haircuts and have British accents. Yup, it was a parody.
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  by Nice Guy In Bay Area on July 19th, 2009
- Thanks all for the answer and the comments. +6.
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  by Suby the Coat on July 19th, 2009
- Phrase meanings can vary, from time to time and generattion to generation. Dmitri's is logical. We just had a different meaning for it when I was younger.
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  by Tom 47 is back in his bear COAT on July 19th, 2009
- I am from a country which still has tigers in the wild. I think the phrase originated here in India. I think Tom's answer and my comments under it would give the original version of the phrase's meaning.
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  by Suby the Coat on July 19th, 2009
- I hear you, Tom. I try to be as logical as I can be. I think Jungle Book was filmed in India. :)
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  by Dmitri on July 20th, 2009
- Jungle book was written about India and the movie version was filmed in India.
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  by Suby the Coat on July 21st, 2009
- Wasn't Riki Tiki Tavi in India too? I think so.
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  by Dmitri on July 22nd, 2009
- Yep. A battle between a mongoose and a cobra. The mongoose wins. They usually do. Brave little farts!
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  by Tom 47 is back in his bear COAT on July 22nd, 2009
- That book is a work of literal art. :)
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  by Dmitri on July 22nd, 2009
- Rudyard Kipling. An Englishman in India. He wrote some good stuff. All fiction....(lol) I don't mean to say it was not valid or good writing. I love the Jungle Book, Mowgli and His Friends, The Man Who Would Be King, "Oh, it's big, Peachy, it's big!...(lol)
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  by Tom 47 is back in his bear COAT on July 22nd, 2009
- Kipling also was the one who said, "Take up the White Man's Burden"....In other words, we, "white men" have a God given burden...to rule and guide the "lesser peoples" of the world. God bless him, he was an Englishman of his time (1800's) Not a bad man,..just a man of his time.
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  by Tom 47 is back in his bear COAT on July 22nd, 2009
- You could read that quote like that. Or you could say that he wanted to gird up his racial (not racist) loins. If you take it this way, which I do, you could use that quote, and change the race to whatever yours is. :)
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  by Dmitri on July 22nd, 2009
- I don't deny he may have felt that the developed nations should help the undeveloped, but it was very much as an empire "helps" its subjects, not always with purely altruistic intentions. If it were, why a huge army in their lands?
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  by Tom 47 is back in his bear COAT on July 22nd, 2009
- Kipling's more famous quote would be 'East is east and west and never the twain shall meet'. I think he said that in a philosophical way.
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  by Suby the Coat on July 22nd, 2009
- And that is a paraphrase of the Biblical verse. As far as the east is from the west. Not perfect, but a good guy, that Kipling.
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  by Dmitri on July 22nd, 2009
- Perhaps. But he felt it was perfctly right for "Englishmen" to be in the Easterner's countries, running things.
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  by Tom 47 is back in his bear COAT on July 22nd, 2009
- It is better to have a good heart than a perfect mind.
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  by Dmitri on July 22nd, 2009
- I won't argue that. And there are no perfect minds, anyway.
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  by Tom 47 is back in his bear COAT on July 22nd, 2009
- Yes. To think you have a perfect mind means you have far from a perfect heart.
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  by Dmitri on July 22nd, 2009
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by Stormarm on July 20th, 2009
Kind of a cross between a Mexican Standoff and Hoisting yourself on Your Own Petard.
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- Lo. Thank you, Stormarm. +6.
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  by Suby the Coat on July 20th, 2009
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by Sheriff Raff -Answerhag on July 19th, 2009
I don't know but I dig the song by that name by Rick Springfield.
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- The song is OK.
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  by Tom 47 is back in his bear COAT on July 19th, 2009
- I didn't know there was a song, Sheriff. Thank you for telling me. +6.
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  by Suby the Coat on July 19th, 2009
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by LarryH54 on October 22nd, 2009
DON'T let go. No matter how bad you think your situation is, there are TEETH on the other end. You don't know the future. You could get dragged past a hunter and end up okay. But if you let go, it's game over.
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by weatherman taking week or so off on October 22nd, 2009
Just try to maneuver yourself behind one. Then you'll know.
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- Would that be the same thing as playing with fire?:)
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  by TjoeBaxter is Hot Yo on October 22nd, 2009
- Similar, but I play with fire. I've never gotten behind a tiger and managed to stay there. They're so quick on their feet and in their minds. Cunning, sly, and agile. Y'know.
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  by weatherman taking week or so off on October 22nd, 2009
- You remind me of a tiger:):)
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  by TjoeBaxter is Hot Yo on October 22nd, 2009
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by qwerty on October 22nd, 2009
flaunting or tempting dnager
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- Truly dangerous situation. Thanks for answering, qwerty. +6.
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  by Suby the Coat on October 22nd, 2009
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by RC loves ice cream on July 22nd, 2009
It means you're stuck in a situation where you want to stop but can't. If you let go the tiger will turn and eat you. If you hold on you can't do anything else.

Reminds me of the arms race between the US and USSR in the cold war. They couldn't stop building bigger weapons but it cost phenomenal amounts of money for both sides to do so.

Of course I don't recommend anyone trying this literally - tigers are more flexible than whoever thought of this metaphor was aware of.
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- Riding the tiger would have been more appropriate, perhaps.
  Thanks for your answer, RC.
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  by Suby the Coat on October 22nd, 2009
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by Tom 47 is back in his bear COAT on July 22nd, 2009
The way I have always understood it it means to be in a situation where you may not be able to manage much longer without help, but to give up now would be disastrous....
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- A typical Tom47 answer. Thank you. +6.
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  by Suby the Coat on October 22nd, 2009
- I revised it, Suby, as it seems I answered the wrong question...or meant to comment, instead.
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  by Tom 47 is back in his bear COAT on October 22nd, 2009
- Now, thats a textbook definition of the pharase, Tom. Thank you.
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  by Suby the Coat on October 23rd, 2009
- Another favorite of mine is, "being up to your arse in alligators can make you forget you are there to drain the swamp"....
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  by Tom 47 is back in his bear COAT on October 23rd, 2009
- Thats great, Tom. Could happen to any of us on occasion. Similar occasions do arise in life.
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  by Suby the Coat on October 24th, 2009
- Indeed they do. Even a "tough guy" like me has sometimes yelled, "HELP!" (lol) And HELP does often appear. I believe I told you about one such time...(wink).
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  by Tom 47 is back in his bear COAT on October 24th, 2009
- May God Bless Us~~~~~Tom.
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  by Suby the Coat on October 24th, 2009
- Amen, Suby. And I believe He does. I believe He is always with us and will help when we truly need and ask for help. He is "I Am", and He is "Tat". He is the "Great Spirit" of many Native American peoples. Other peoples call Him by different names, but He is one and the same. When we all realise this, maybe we can learn to live and work together here.
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  by Tom 47 is back in his bear COAT on October 24th, 2009
- And finally peace will be on Earth when everyone realizes God is in the Heavens. Great thought, Tom.
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  by Suby the Coat on October 24th, 2009
- In the Heavens...and all around us...and within us...
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  by Tom 47 is back in his bear COAT on October 24th, 2009
- "'God's in His Heaven, all's right with the world,' Robert Browning wrote, and the psalm is not saying that any more than you or I can say it either. Whoever wrote it had walked through the valley of the shadow the way one way or another you and I have walked there too. He says so himself. He believed that God was in his Heaven despite the fact that he knew as well as we do that all was far from right with the world. And he believed that God was like a shepherd...."
  http://clergyresources.net/Faggart/soul%20hunger.htm
  .
  My comment was an adaptation of Robert Browning's famous lines, Tom. Please read the full blog in the link and comment.
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  by Suby the Coat on October 24th, 2009
- I did and I can't add anything to it. A great description of what the psalm (poem) intended. I love the Psalms. I am dubious they were written by King David, but it does not matter.
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  by Tom 47 is back in his bear COAT on October 24th, 2009
- It is same as saying 'God is Great' which I say often enough while talking to people.
  'God IS Great' because we can stay and rest assured that He will take care of us, no matter what.
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  by Suby the Coat on October 24th, 2009
- "Though I am slain, yet will I worship Him"....Pretty heavy faith. The old Hebrew prophets are not to be ignored. That is why I have little patience with those who ridicule the old scriptures, whether the Torah or the Bag-Vad Ghita. I don't have to believe them as "science", but they were not written as "science" texts. They are about spiritual things...and the relationship of man to God. Why can't people see this? Everyone is so negative, Suby. Nothing is held sacred,..not just the old scriptures, which no-one reads any more, but even the now! People don't have respect for anything now, either. Not their parents' sacrifices for them or even for themselves. Kids have no self- respect...so they can't have respect for others. Oh, I am not talking about all of them,...just enough that it is noticable and it has its repurcussions in society. And I am tired and through with my rant for the night.
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  by Tom 47 is back in his bear COAT on October 25th, 2009
- Trouble is, Tom, people are too busy fulfilling their craving for material pleasures that they have little time left to contemplate on why these endless bouts of fulfillments and self-appeasement is so important to them.
  Everyone wants to derive maximum amount of joy and pleasure within the smallest possible time frame. They are in a hurry. They are rushing to find satisfaction in every moment of the life they live.
  If only they will pause to think, they will realize that they are not trying to satisfy themselves but are only passing on the experiences that the world can provide to a higher intelligence which lies beyond their minds and intellects. 'Tat' is the ultimate enjoyer of all that people think they are enjoying. 'Tat' also happens to be the enjoyed. People are just the intermediaries passing on their earthly experiences to 'Tat'.
  The ancients realized this truth. Thence they advised moderation. Because they identified what was actually happening.
  Therefore all enjoyment must be made as an offering to 'Tat' or 'God'.
  Now even grown ups have no respect for what the ancient wise men had to say. Then how could we expect the present day kids and teenagers to to respect the ancient scriptures and books?
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  by Suby the Coat on October 25th, 2009
- Very deep, Suby. And I do agree. I don't know what the answer is. I was gifted with very special parents. I think most of my genertion was. Our parents had the "grasp". They still had the "connection". Somehow, my generation lost it. I don't know exactly when or how it happened. And it wasn't all, but very many. I don't know what the sixties and early seventies were like in India, Suby, but it was a great social upheaval in America. So many things changed...and so fast. I lived through it, but even I could not follow it. Anyway. We are a much different people now. We are not a "bad" people, but we just don't have the same sense of unity as a country or sense of purpose,...at least the younger ones don't seem to. And this old man is going to get some sleep. He has had a long week.
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  by Tom 47 is back in his bear COAT on October 25th, 2009
- I thought you went to sleep early in the morning after posting your last comment, Tom. As its evening here I went to watch a movie and returned just now to see your comment.
  In the late 60s and early 70s there were plenty of Hippies arriving here in India looking for spirituality. My first face to face contact with Americans too were with these hippies. They were really looking for spiritual guidance. I was young then and used to travel a lot. Most often I had hippie company for travel. They were great!
  The 80s onwards the phenomenon I suggested in my last comment must have commenced. What it is like now, you know best, as you are living it.
  Getting late. I too must head for the bed. See you in 7 hours, Tom.
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  by Suby the Coat on October 25th, 2009
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by RosieGHM Jetpacker on July 20th, 2009
Possibly that you bit off more than you bargained for and the chewing is not going well. :)
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- That and something worse, Rosie. Thank you. +6.
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  by Suby the Coat on July 20th, 2009
- You're welcome Suby! :)
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  by RosieGHM Jetpacker on July 31st, 2009
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by Nancy on July 19th, 2009
Conquer the beast.
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- Trying to conquer and ending up loosing, Nancy. Thank you, +6.
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  by Suby the Coat on July 20th, 2009
- Not necessarily! You're welcome Suby.
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  by Nancy on July 20th, 2009
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by Go know thyself is THE RED QUEEN on July 19th, 2009
What do you think would happen to you if you caught a tiger that way?
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- WOuld you really be catching anything? Or getting yourself caught in the attempt at trying to catch something in a foolish counterintuitive manner?
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  by Go know thyself is THE RED QUEEN on July 19th, 2009
- I wanted you to tell me what would happen, GKT. +6.
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  by Suby the Coat on July 19th, 2009
- You know I'd derrive far too much pleasure from such a thing if it were SOME people...Not you Suby...
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  by Go know thyself is THE RED QUEEN on July 19th, 2009
- Please look at Tom47's answer, GKT.
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  by Suby the Coat on July 19th, 2009
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by MeMe on July 19th, 2009
The early bird catches the worm.
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- But thats another proverb that needs explanation, Mickey. +6.
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  by Suby the Coat on July 19th, 2009
- So true, thank you.
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  by MeMe on July 20th, 2009
- Ok, I thought about it my husband thinks of it as a negative, Where I think of it as a positive The tiger, he is putty in my hands now I have him by the tai!! What ever I want in life is mine.I HAVE The TIGER BY THE TAIL! Thanx for the 2nd chance!
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  by MeMe on July 20th, 2009
- We could interpret any proverb to suit a positive thought, Mickey.
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  by Suby the Coat on July 20th, 2009
- True! Thank you
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  by MeMe on July 21st, 2009
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