See tail between one's legs on Wiktionary
{
"etymology_text": "From the body posture of a dog that is worried or frightened.",
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "phrase"
},
"expansion": "tail between one's legs",
"name": "head"
}
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "phrase",
"senses": [
{
"categories": [],
"examples": [
{
"text": "He came back home, tail between his legs.",
"type": "example"
},
{
"ref": "1919, W[illiam] Somerset Maugham, chapter XV, in The Moon and Sixpence, [New York, N.Y.]: Grosset & Dunlap Publishers […], →OCLC:",
"text": "\"I wouldn't do that,\" said Mrs. MacAndrew. \"I'd give him all the rope he wants. He'll come back with his tail between his legs and settle down again quite comfortably.\"",
"type": "quote"
},
{
"ref": "2023 February 27, Elle Hunt, quoting Kelsey Grammer, “‘Don’t make Frasier best friends with Elon Musk!’ Writers and comics offer their reboot tips”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:",
"text": "After 11 seasons set in Seattle[…] Frasier is returning to Boston, to reconquer his old Cheers-era stomping ground. “He left with his tail between his legs a little bit,” Grammer said in a recent interview.",
"type": "quote"
}
],
"glosses": [
"Defeated; in a cowardly or miserable manner."
],
"id": "en-tail_between_one's_legs-en-phrase-OBbmnjt-",
"links": [
[
"Defeated",
"defeated"
],
[
"cowardly",
"cowardly"
]
],
"translations": [
{
"_dis1": "99 1",
"code": "nl",
"lang": "Dutch",
"sense": "defeated; in a cowardly or miserable manner",
"word": "de staart tussen de benen"
},
{
"_dis1": "99 1",
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "defeated; in a cowardly or miserable manner",
"word": "häntä koipien välissä"
},
{
"_dis1": "99 1",
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "defeated; in a cowardly or miserable manner",
"word": "la queue entre les jambes"
},
{
"_dis1": "99 1",
"code": "he",
"lang": "Hebrew",
"roman": "znavó bēn ragláv",
"sense": "defeated; in a cowardly or miserable manner",
"word": "זְנָבוֹ בֵּין רַגְלָיו"
},
{
"_dis1": "99 1",
"code": "mk",
"lang": "Macedonian",
"roman": "so podviena opaška",
"sense": "defeated; in a cowardly or miserable manner",
"word": "со подвиена опашка"
},
{
"_dis1": "99 1",
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"sense": "defeated; in a cowardly or miserable manner",
"word": "z uszami spuszczonymi po sobie"
},
{
"_dis1": "99 1",
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"sense": "defeated; in a cowardly or miserable manner",
"word": "z podwiniętym ogonem"
},
{
"_dis1": "99 1",
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"roman": "podžáv xvost",
"sense": "defeated; in a cowardly or miserable manner",
"word": "поджа́в хвост"
},
{
"_dis1": "99 1",
"code": "sh",
"lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
"sense": "defeated; in a cowardly or miserable manner",
"tags": [
"Cyrillic"
],
"word": "подвити реп"
},
{
"_dis1": "99 1",
"code": "sh",
"lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
"sense": "defeated; in a cowardly or miserable manner",
"tags": [
"Cyrillic"
],
"word": "подвијеног репа"
},
{
"_dis1": "99 1",
"code": "sh",
"lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
"sense": "defeated; in a cowardly or miserable manner",
"tags": [
"Roman"
],
"word": "podviti rep"
},
{
"_dis1": "99 1",
"code": "sh",
"lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
"sense": "defeated; in a cowardly or miserable manner",
"tags": [
"Roman"
],
"word": "podvijenog repa"
},
{
"_dis1": "99 1",
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "defeated; in a cowardly or miserable manner",
"word": "con la cola entre las piernas"
},
{
"_dis1": "99 1",
"code": "sv",
"lang": "Swedish",
"sense": "defeated; in a cowardly or miserable manner",
"word": "med svansen mellan benen"
},
{
"_dis1": "99 1",
"code": "tl",
"lang": "Tagalog",
"sense": "defeated; in a cowardly or miserable manner",
"word": "bahag ang buntot"
},
{
"_dis1": "99 1",
"code": "th",
"lang": "Thai",
"roman": "hǎang-jùk-dtùut",
"sense": "defeated; in a cowardly or miserable manner",
"word": "หางจุกตูด"
}
]
},
{
"categories": [
{
"_dis": "33 67",
"kind": "other",
"name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
"parents": [
"Entries with incorrect language header",
"Entry maintenance"
],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "36 64",
"kind": "other",
"name": "Entries with translation boxes",
"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "31 69",
"kind": "other",
"name": "Pages with 1 entry",
"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "20 80",
"kind": "other",
"name": "Pages with entries",
"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "29 71",
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with Dutch translations",
"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "31 69",
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with Finnish translations",
"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "27 73",
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with French translations",
"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "31 69",
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with Hebrew translations",
"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "31 69",
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with Macedonian translations",
"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "42 58",
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with Polish translations",
"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "20 80",
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with Russian translations",
"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "30 70",
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with Serbo-Croatian translations",
"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "19 81",
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with Spanish translations",
"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "31 69",
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with Swedish translations",
"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "31 69",
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with Tagalog translations",
"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "31 69",
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with Thai translations",
"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
}
],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Second Part of Henry the Sixt, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies. […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene i], page 144:",
"text": "Oft haue I ſeene a hot ore-weening Curre / Run backe and bite, becauſe he was with-held, / Who being ſuffer'd with the Beares fell paw, / Hath clapt his taile, between his legges and cride,",
"type": "quote"
}
],
"glosses": [
"Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see tail, between, one's, legs."
],
"id": "en-tail_between_one's_legs-en-phrase-ADjL2gwA",
"links": [
[
"tail",
"tail#English"
],
[
"between",
"between#English"
],
[
"one's",
"one's#English"
],
[
"legs",
"legs#English"
]
]
}
],
"sounds": [
{
"audio": "En-au-tail between one's legs.ogg",
"mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/a/ae/En-au-tail_between_one%27s_legs.ogg/En-au-tail_between_one%27s_legs.ogg.mp3",
"ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ae/En-au-tail_between_one%27s_legs.ogg"
}
],
"word": "tail between one's legs"
}
{
"categories": [
"English entries with incorrect language header",
"English lemmas",
"English multiword terms",
"English phrases",
"Entries with translation boxes",
"Pages with 1 entry",
"Pages with entries",
"Terms with Dutch translations",
"Terms with Finnish translations",
"Terms with French translations",
"Terms with Hebrew translations",
"Terms with Macedonian translations",
"Terms with Polish translations",
"Terms with Russian translations",
"Terms with Serbo-Croatian translations",
"Terms with Spanish translations",
"Terms with Swedish translations",
"Terms with Tagalog translations",
"Terms with Thai translations"
],
"etymology_text": "From the body posture of a dog that is worried or frightened.",
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "phrase"
},
"expansion": "tail between one's legs",
"name": "head"
}
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "phrase",
"senses": [
{
"categories": [
"English terms with quotations",
"English terms with usage examples"
],
"examples": [
{
"text": "He came back home, tail between his legs.",
"type": "example"
},
{
"ref": "1919, W[illiam] Somerset Maugham, chapter XV, in The Moon and Sixpence, [New York, N.Y.]: Grosset & Dunlap Publishers […], →OCLC:",
"text": "\"I wouldn't do that,\" said Mrs. MacAndrew. \"I'd give him all the rope he wants. He'll come back with his tail between his legs and settle down again quite comfortably.\"",
"type": "quote"
},
{
"ref": "2023 February 27, Elle Hunt, quoting Kelsey Grammer, “‘Don’t make Frasier best friends with Elon Musk!’ Writers and comics offer their reboot tips”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:",
"text": "After 11 seasons set in Seattle[…] Frasier is returning to Boston, to reconquer his old Cheers-era stomping ground. “He left with his tail between his legs a little bit,” Grammer said in a recent interview.",
"type": "quote"
}
],
"glosses": [
"Defeated; in a cowardly or miserable manner."
],
"links": [
[
"Defeated",
"defeated"
],
[
"cowardly",
"cowardly"
]
]
},
{
"categories": [
"English terms with quotations"
],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Second Part of Henry the Sixt, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies. […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene i], page 144:",
"text": "Oft haue I ſeene a hot ore-weening Curre / Run backe and bite, becauſe he was with-held, / Who being ſuffer'd with the Beares fell paw, / Hath clapt his taile, between his legges and cride,",
"type": "quote"
}
],
"glosses": [
"Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see tail, between, one's, legs."
],
"links": [
[
"tail",
"tail#English"
],
[
"between",
"between#English"
],
[
"one's",
"one's#English"
],
[
"legs",
"legs#English"
]
]
}
],
"sounds": [
{
"audio": "En-au-tail between one's legs.ogg",
"mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/a/ae/En-au-tail_between_one%27s_legs.ogg/En-au-tail_between_one%27s_legs.ogg.mp3",
"ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ae/En-au-tail_between_one%27s_legs.ogg"
}
],
"translations": [
{
"code": "nl",
"lang": "Dutch",
"sense": "defeated; in a cowardly or miserable manner",
"word": "de staart tussen de benen"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "defeated; in a cowardly or miserable manner",
"word": "häntä koipien välissä"
},
{
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "defeated; in a cowardly or miserable manner",
"word": "la queue entre les jambes"
},
{
"code": "he",
"lang": "Hebrew",
"roman": "znavó bēn ragláv",
"sense": "defeated; in a cowardly or miserable manner",
"word": "זְנָבוֹ בֵּין רַגְלָיו"
},
{
"code": "mk",
"lang": "Macedonian",
"roman": "so podviena opaška",
"sense": "defeated; in a cowardly or miserable manner",
"word": "со подвиена опашка"
},
{
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"sense": "defeated; in a cowardly or miserable manner",
"word": "z uszami spuszczonymi po sobie"
},
{
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"sense": "defeated; in a cowardly or miserable manner",
"word": "z podwiniętym ogonem"
},
{
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"roman": "podžáv xvost",
"sense": "defeated; in a cowardly or miserable manner",
"word": "поджа́в хвост"
},
{
"code": "sh",
"lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
"sense": "defeated; in a cowardly or miserable manner",
"tags": [
"Cyrillic"
],
"word": "подвити реп"
},
{
"code": "sh",
"lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
"sense": "defeated; in a cowardly or miserable manner",
"tags": [
"Cyrillic"
],
"word": "подвијеног репа"
},
{
"code": "sh",
"lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
"sense": "defeated; in a cowardly or miserable manner",
"tags": [
"Roman"
],
"word": "podviti rep"
},
{
"code": "sh",
"lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
"sense": "defeated; in a cowardly or miserable manner",
"tags": [
"Roman"
],
"word": "podvijenog repa"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "defeated; in a cowardly or miserable manner",
"word": "con la cola entre las piernas"
},
{
"code": "sv",
"lang": "Swedish",
"sense": "defeated; in a cowardly or miserable manner",
"word": "med svansen mellan benen"
},
{
"code": "tl",
"lang": "Tagalog",
"sense": "defeated; in a cowardly or miserable manner",
"word": "bahag ang buntot"
},
{
"code": "th",
"lang": "Thai",
"roman": "hǎang-jùk-dtùut",
"sense": "defeated; in a cowardly or miserable manner",
"word": "หางจุกตูด"
}
],
"word": "tail between one's legs"
}
Download raw JSONL data for tail between one's legs meaning in All languages combined (5.3kB)
This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable All languages combined dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-12-01 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-11-21 using wiktextract (95d2be1 and 64224ec). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.
If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.