Rate this phrase:0.0 / 0 votes

have the wolf by the ear

To be in a difficult situation - a dangerous situation from which one cannot disengage, but in which one cannot safely remain.

Etymology:

  • Initially attributed to Roman Emperor Tiberius circa year 0 AD, by biographer C. Suetonius Tranquillus
  • US, 1820, by Thomas Jefferson, writing about the institution of slavery and the Missouri compromise:
49 Views
Collection   Edit    

Submitted on July 07, 2010

Translation

Find a translation for the have the wolf by the ear phrase in other languages:

Select another language:

  • - Select -
  • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
  • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
  • Español (Spanish)
  • Esperanto (Esperanto)
  • 日本語 (Japanese)
  • Português (Portuguese)
  • Deutsch (German)
  • العربية (Arabic)
  • Français (French)
  • Русский (Russian)
  • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
  • 한국어 (Korean)
  • עברית (Hebrew)
  • Gaeilge (Irish)
  • Українська (Ukrainian)
  • اردو (Urdu)
  • Magyar (Hungarian)
  • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
  • Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Italiano (Italian)
  • தமிழ் (Tamil)
  • Türkçe (Turkish)
  • తెలుగు (Telugu)
  • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
  • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
  • Čeština (Czech)
  • Polski (Polish)
  • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Românește (Romanian)
  • Nederlands (Dutch)
  • Ελληνικά (Greek)
  • Latinum (Latin)
  • Svenska (Swedish)
  • Dansk (Danish)
  • Suomi (Finnish)
  • فارسی (Persian)
  • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
  • հայերեն (Armenian)
  • Norsk (Norwegian)
  • English (English)

Nearby phrases

Some more phrases from our dictionary similar to have the wolf by the ear

have tickets on oneselfhave something down pathave the blueshave time on one's sidehave the time of one's lifehave the biscuithave tohave the foggiesthave the world by the tailhave the hots forhave you got the timehave to do with the price of fishhave toHave Your Cake and Eat It Too

How to pronounce this phrase?

Discuss this have the wolf by the ear phrase with the community:

0 Comments

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this have the wolf by the ear definition to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "have the wolf by the ear." Phrases.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 21 Nov. 2024. <https://www.phrases.com/phrase/have-the-wolf-by-the-ear_12930>.

    Powered by CITE.ME Cite.Me

    We need you!

    Help us build the largest human-edited phrases collection on the web!

    Quiz

    Are you a phrases master?

    »
    I'd take a _________ for that child.
    A jab
    B bullet
    C sword
    D challenge

    Browse Phrases.com

    #ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ