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The tail wagging the dog is an idiom that usually refers to something important or powerful being controlled by something less so. Its earliest use is in the 1858 play Our American Cousin. The 1997 film Wag the Dog shortened the phrase and added the additional meaning of "superfluous (military) action in order to distract from domestic scandal."
The idiom "wag the dog" is used to describe a situation where someone or something is causing chaos or stirring up trouble in order to divert attention away from a problem or issue. It suggests that the person or thing is trying to create a distraction by making a big fuss or causing a commotion, typically in order to hide something else that they don't want to be revealed.
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to divert attention from something that is badto change the topic from something that is more important to something that is notto hide somethinga small part (of something) controlling the big partThe prime minister keeps wagging the dogto keep people from actually finding out about the scam and its details.I had to wag the dogso that he does not find out where I had actually gone this afternoon.She often wags the dogso that his mother does not find out about his father’s medical condition. They do not want to frighten her until things are clearer.Although Suzy has just joined the team yesterday she has been wagging the dogsince this morning and trying to tell people what to do.There is a popular saying which goes “a dog is smarter than its tail, but if the tail were smarter, then the tail would wag the dog“. The phrase in discussion is the shorter version of the same. The phrase is also the tittle of a black comedy film from 1997. Animal, Circumstances, Dog
Jul 8, 2018 · Wag the dog can be used as a verb or an adjective. A strategy can be referred to as “a real wag the dog tactic,” or you can say that “The prime minister is wagging the dog with this accusation.”. It can also be used as a hashtag to call attention to a person’s use of this strategy.
Mar 1, 2018 · Before the film Wag the Dog and its allusive application to the Clinton scandal, the idiom wag the dog was more commonly used with or in reference to the full phrase, the tail wagging the dog, i.e., a reversal of proper roles. Since then, wag the dog has come to be used on its own and as a term for a political diversion.
To 'wag the dog' means to purposely divert attention from what would otherwise be of greater importance, to something else of lesser significance. By doing so, the lesser-significant event is catapulted into the limelight, drowning proper attention to what was originally the more important issue. The expression comes from the saying that 'a dog ...
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wag the dog (third-person singular simple present wags the dog, present participle wagging the dog, simple past and past participle wagged the dog) (idiomatic, politics) To divert negative political attention by use of a military operation. When something powerful or important is being controlled by something that is less powerful or important.
