Search results
The answer to a riddle, “Why does a dog wag his tail?” is answered by an English nobleman, who says it is “because the dog is stronger than his tail. If he wasn’t the tail would wag the dog.”
- Where Did The Expression Wag The Dog Come from?
- When Did Wag The Dog Become Political?
- How Do You Use Wag The Dog in A sentence?
Wag the dog comes from the longer expression the tail wagging the dog.The tail wagging the dog is an American idiom that dates back to at least the 1870s. Research by Gary Martin for the UK-based website Phrase Finder first finds the expression in an 1872 local newspaper, The Daily Republican: “Calling to mind Lord Dundreary’s conundrum, the Baltim...
Wag the dog went on to develop its own specialized political meaning. In 1997, a film called Wag the Dog came out, based on a 1993 novel of the same name by Larry Beinhart. The plot revolved around efforts to distract attention from a presidential scandal by fabricating a war. The story intruded into real politics not long after its release. In 199...
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 dogwith this accusation.” It can also be used as a hashtag to call attention to a person’s use of this strategy.
Mar 1, 2018 · What does wag the dog mean? To wag the dog means to distract attention away from a political scandal, often through military action. Where does wag the dog come from?
Wag the dog is a political term for the act of creating a diversion from a damaging issue usually through military force. It stems from the generic use of the term to mean a small and seemingly unimportant entity (the tail) controls a bigger, more important one (the dog). It is usually used by a politician when they are in a scandal, in hopes ...
Oct 2, 2024 · to hide something. a small part (of something) controlling the big part. circumstances where a larger group does things in order to satisfy a smaller group. Example Sentences. The prime minister keeps wagging the dog to keep people from actually finding out about the scam and its details.
The tail wagging the dog. Meaning. A small and usually insignificant factor (or person) dominates over one that is normally more powerful and influential. Examples. Even small countries like Estonia have a veto in European Union voting and can’t be over-ruled. I’d call that the tail wagging the dog.
People also ask
What does Wag the dog mean in 'Wag the dog'?
What does waging a dog mean?
What is a Wag the dog tactic?
Where did the idiom wagging the dog come from?
What does tail wagging the dog mean?
Would the tail wag the dog if he wasn't the tail?
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.
