Tiger by the tail
Something too difficult to manage or cope with, as in You know nothing about the commodities market; you’ll end up catching a tiger by the tail. This colorful metaphor conjures up the image of grabbing a powerful but fierce animal by the tail, only to have it turn on one. [ Second half of 1900s ]
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noun 1. any of several felines, as the ocelot or margay, that resemble the tiger in coloration or ferocity but are smaller. 2. a spotted marsupial cat, Dasyurus (Dasyurops) maculatus. 3. a domestic cat having a striped coat resembling that of a tiger. noun 1. a medium-sized feline mammal, Felis tigrina, of Central and South […]
- Tigerfish
noun, plural (especially collectively) tigerfish (especially referring to two or more kinds or species) tigerfishes. 1. a large, voracious, freshwater game fish, Hydrocyenus goliath, of African rivers.
- Tigerish
adjective 1. tigerlike, as in strength, fierceness, courage, or coloration. 2. fiercely cruel; bloodthirsty; relentless.
- Tiger kidnapping
noun 1. a kidnapping in which one or more hostages are taken to coerce another person, usually a relation of the person or people held, to take part in a crime
- Tiger-lily
noun 1. a lily, Lilium lancifolium (or tigrinum), having dull-orange flowers spotted with black and small bulbs or bulbils in the axils of the leaves. 2. any lily, especially L. pardalinum, of similar coloration. noun 1. a lily plant, Lilium tigrinum, of China and Japan, cultivated for its flowers, which have black-spotted orange reflexed petals […]