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- Dictionarytar baby
noun
- 1. a difficult problem that is only aggravated by attempts to solve it: informal "disposal of nuclear waste was a problem whose solution was endlessly delayed, a tar baby no one wanted anything to do with"
- 2. a contemptuous term for a black person. offensive US
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What is the Tar Baby Story?
The Tar-Baby is the second of the Uncle Remus stories published in 1881; it is about a doll made of tar and turpentine used by the villainous Br'er Fox to entrap Br'er Rabbit. The more that Br'er Rabbit fights the Tar-Baby, the more entangled he becomes.
Tar-Baby, sticky tar doll, the central figure in black American folktales popularized in written literature by the American author Joel Chandler Harris. Harris’ “Tar-Baby” (1879), one of the animal tales told by the character Uncle Remus, is but one example of numerous African-derived tales.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
The meaning of TAR BABY is something from which it is nearly impossible to extricate oneself.
Toni Morrison (b. 1931) American novelist. The fourth novel by Nobel Prize–winner Toni Morrison, Tar Baby (1981) is the story of the ill–fated love affair between Jadine Childs and William (Son) Green.
Tar baby definition: a situation, problem, or the like, that is almost impossible to solve or to break away from.. See examples of TAR BABY used in a sentence.
May 11, 2017 · Today, the term "tar baby" is interpreted by many as a racial slur, and politicians have gotten in trouble for using it. But in its original context, it was a metaphor for a sticky situation...
tar baby in British English. noun. a troublesome situation that is made worse by attempts to extricate oneself from it. Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers. Word origin. C20: after the tar-covered doll in a story (1881) by Joel Chandler Harris.
