See catch a Tartar in All languages combined, or Wiktionary
{
"forms": [
{
"form": "catches a Tartar",
"tags": [
"present",
"singular",
"third-person"
]
},
{
"form": "catching a Tartar",
"tags": [
"participle",
"present"
]
},
{
"form": "caught a Tartar",
"tags": [
"participle",
"past"
]
},
{
"form": "caught a Tartar",
"tags": [
"past"
]
}
],
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "<,,caught>"
},
"expansion": "catch a Tartar (third-person singular simple present catches a Tartar, present participle catching a Tartar, simple past and past participle caught a Tartar)",
"name": "en-verb"
}
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "verb",
"senses": [
{
"categories": [
{
"_dis": "27 38 35",
"kind": "other",
"name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "28 37 35",
"kind": "other",
"name": "Pages with 1 entry",
"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "29 36 35",
"kind": "other",
"name": "Pages with entries",
"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
}
],
"examples": [
{
"bold_text_offsets": [
[
14,
33
]
],
"ref": "1674, Samuel Butler, Hudibras, §1.3.175:",
"text": "Now thou hast got me for a Tartar,\nTo make m 'gainst my will take quarter.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"bold_text_offsets": [
[
5,
18
],
[
21,
27
]
],
"ref": "1680, John Dryden, Kind Keeper, §5.1.62:",
"text": "What a Tartar have I caught!",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"bold_text_offsets": [
[
28,
42
]
],
"ref": "1720, Daniel Defoe, Life of Captain Singleton, page 281:",
"text": "Tell him, if he try, he may catch a Tartar.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"To discover someone is much stronger, much more dangerous, or much more violent than they appeared at first, especially after laying hands on them"
],
"id": "en-catch_a_Tartar-en-verb-1nxhVs10",
"links": [
[
"discover",
"discover"
],
[
"someone",
"someone"
],
[
"much",
"much"
],
[
"stronger",
"stronger"
],
[
"more",
"more"
],
[
"dangerous",
"dangerous"
],
[
"or",
"or"
],
[
"violent",
"violent"
],
[
"they",
"they"
],
[
"appear",
"appear"
],
[
"at first",
"at first"
],
[
"especially",
"especially"
],
[
"laying hands on",
"laying hands on"
],
[
"them",
"them"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(archaic, colloquial) To discover someone is much stronger, much more dangerous, or much more violent than they appeared at first, especially after laying hands on them"
],
"synonyms": [
{
"word": "get someone for a Tartar"
}
],
"tags": [
"archaic",
"colloquial"
]
},
{
"categories": [
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "English Thieves' Cant",
"parents": [],
"source": "w"
},
{
"_dis": "27 38 35",
"kind": "other",
"name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "28 37 35",
"kind": "other",
"name": "Pages with 1 entry",
"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "29 36 35",
"kind": "other",
"name": "Pages with entries",
"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
}
],
"glosses": [
"To fail in attempt to rob someone who turns out to be a stronger robber."
],
"id": "en-catch_a_Tartar-en-verb-umNvutHa",
"links": [
[
"fail",
"fail"
],
[
"attempt",
"attempt"
],
[
"rob",
"rob"
],
[
"someone",
"someone"
],
[
"turns out",
"turns out"
],
[
"stronger",
"stronger"
],
[
"robber",
"robber"
]
],
"qualifier": "thieves' cant",
"raw_glosses": [
"(thieves' cant, obsolete) To fail in attempt to rob someone who turns out to be a stronger robber."
],
"tags": [
"obsolete"
]
},
{
"categories": [
{
"_dis": "27 38 35",
"kind": "other",
"name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "28 37 35",
"kind": "other",
"name": "Pages with 1 entry",
"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "29 36 35",
"kind": "other",
"name": "Pages with entries",
"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
}
],
"examples": [
{
"bold_text_offsets": [
[
75,
90
]
],
"ref": "1897, Florence Marryat, chapter XIV, in The Blood of the Vampire:",
"text": "You must give up flirting, my boy, or if I mistake not, you'll find you've caught a Tartar.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"To discover someone who cannot be controlled or disposed of more generally."
],
"id": "en-catch_a_Tartar-en-verb-2cqhrZbR",
"links": [
[
"discover",
"discover"
],
[
"someone",
"someone"
],
[
"cannot",
"cannot"
],
[
"controlled",
"controlled"
],
[
"disposed",
"disposed"
],
[
"more",
"more"
],
[
"generally",
"generally"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(archaic, colloquial, figurative) To discover someone who cannot be controlled or disposed of more generally."
],
"tags": [
"archaic",
"colloquial",
"figuratively"
]
}
],
"word": "catch a Tartar"
}
{
"categories": [
"English entries with incorrect language header",
"English lemmas",
"English multiword terms",
"English verbs",
"Pages with 1 entry",
"Pages with entries"
],
"forms": [
{
"form": "catches a Tartar",
"tags": [
"present",
"singular",
"third-person"
]
},
{
"form": "catching a Tartar",
"tags": [
"participle",
"present"
]
},
{
"form": "caught a Tartar",
"tags": [
"participle",
"past"
]
},
{
"form": "caught a Tartar",
"tags": [
"past"
]
}
],
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "<,,caught>"
},
"expansion": "catch a Tartar (third-person singular simple present catches a Tartar, present participle catching a Tartar, simple past and past participle caught a Tartar)",
"name": "en-verb"
}
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "verb",
"senses": [
{
"categories": [
"English colloquialisms",
"English terms with archaic senses",
"English terms with quotations",
"Quotation templates to be cleaned"
],
"examples": [
{
"bold_text_offsets": [
[
14,
33
]
],
"ref": "1674, Samuel Butler, Hudibras, §1.3.175:",
"text": "Now thou hast got me for a Tartar,\nTo make m 'gainst my will take quarter.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"bold_text_offsets": [
[
5,
18
],
[
21,
27
]
],
"ref": "1680, John Dryden, Kind Keeper, §5.1.62:",
"text": "What a Tartar have I caught!",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"bold_text_offsets": [
[
28,
42
]
],
"ref": "1720, Daniel Defoe, Life of Captain Singleton, page 281:",
"text": "Tell him, if he try, he may catch a Tartar.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"To discover someone is much stronger, much more dangerous, or much more violent than they appeared at first, especially after laying hands on them"
],
"links": [
[
"discover",
"discover"
],
[
"someone",
"someone"
],
[
"much",
"much"
],
[
"stronger",
"stronger"
],
[
"more",
"more"
],
[
"dangerous",
"dangerous"
],
[
"or",
"or"
],
[
"violent",
"violent"
],
[
"they",
"they"
],
[
"appear",
"appear"
],
[
"at first",
"at first"
],
[
"especially",
"especially"
],
[
"laying hands on",
"laying hands on"
],
[
"them",
"them"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(archaic, colloquial) To discover someone is much stronger, much more dangerous, or much more violent than they appeared at first, especially after laying hands on them"
],
"synonyms": [
{
"word": "get someone for a Tartar"
}
],
"tags": [
"archaic",
"colloquial"
]
},
{
"categories": [
"English Thieves' Cant",
"English terms with obsolete senses"
],
"glosses": [
"To fail in attempt to rob someone who turns out to be a stronger robber."
],
"links": [
[
"fail",
"fail"
],
[
"attempt",
"attempt"
],
[
"rob",
"rob"
],
[
"someone",
"someone"
],
[
"turns out",
"turns out"
],
[
"stronger",
"stronger"
],
[
"robber",
"robber"
]
],
"qualifier": "thieves' cant",
"raw_glosses": [
"(thieves' cant, obsolete) To fail in attempt to rob someone who turns out to be a stronger robber."
],
"tags": [
"obsolete"
]
},
{
"categories": [
"English colloquialisms",
"English terms with archaic senses",
"English terms with quotations"
],
"examples": [
{
"bold_text_offsets": [
[
75,
90
]
],
"ref": "1897, Florence Marryat, chapter XIV, in The Blood of the Vampire:",
"text": "You must give up flirting, my boy, or if I mistake not, you'll find you've caught a Tartar.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"To discover someone who cannot be controlled or disposed of more generally."
],
"links": [
[
"discover",
"discover"
],
[
"someone",
"someone"
],
[
"cannot",
"cannot"
],
[
"controlled",
"controlled"
],
[
"disposed",
"disposed"
],
[
"more",
"more"
],
[
"generally",
"generally"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(archaic, colloquial, figurative) To discover someone who cannot be controlled or disposed of more generally."
],
"tags": [
"archaic",
"colloquial",
"figuratively"
]
}
],
"word": "catch a Tartar"
}
Download raw JSONL data for catch a Tartar meaning in English (3.5kB)
This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2026-01-16 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2026-01-01 using wiktextract (d1270d2 and 9905b1f). 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.