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tar baby

 - 2 dictionary results

tar baby

–noun
a situation, problem, or the like, that is almost impossible to solve or to break away from.
Also, tarbaby.


Origin:
after the tar doll used to trap Brer Rabbit in an Uncle Remus story (1881) of Joel Chandler Harris
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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tar baby  
n.  A situation or problem from which it is virtually impossible to disentangle oneself.

[After "Bre'r Rabbit and the Tar Baby," an Uncle Remus story by Joel Chandler Harris.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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