See catch a Tartar in All languages combined, or Wiktionary
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{
"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": "quote"
},
{
"ref": "1680, John Dryden, Kind Keeper, §5.1.62:",
"text": "What a Tartar have I caught!",
"type": "quote"
},
{
"ref": "1720, Daniel Defoe, Life of Captain Singleton, page 281:",
"text": "Tell him, if he try, he may catch a Tartar.",
"type": "quote"
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"To discover someone is much stronger, much more dangerous, and/or much more violent than they appeared at first, especially after laying hands on them or (thieves' cant, obsolete) in a failed attempt to rob someone who turns out to be a stronger robber."
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"(archaic, colloquial) To discover someone is much stronger, much more dangerous, and/or much more violent than they appeared at first, especially after laying hands on them or (thieves' cant, obsolete) in a failed attempt to rob someone who turns out to be a stronger robber."
],
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"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": "quote"
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"To discover someone who cannot be controlled or disposed of more generally."
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{
"ref": "1680, John Dryden, Kind Keeper, §5.1.62:",
"text": "What a Tartar have I caught!",
"type": "quote"
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{
"ref": "1720, Daniel Defoe, Life of Captain Singleton, page 281:",
"text": "Tell him, if he try, he may catch a Tartar.",
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"To discover someone is much stronger, much more dangerous, and/or much more violent than they appeared at first, especially after laying hands on them or (thieves' cant, obsolete) in a failed attempt to rob someone who turns out to be a stronger robber."
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"(archaic, colloquial) To discover someone is much stronger, much more dangerous, and/or much more violent than they appeared at first, especially after laying hands on them or (thieves' cant, obsolete) in a failed attempt to rob someone who turns out to be a stronger robber."
],
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],
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"To discover someone who cannot be controlled or disposed of more generally."
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"(archaic, colloquial, figurative) To discover someone who cannot be controlled or disposed of more generally."
],
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"word": "catch a Tartar"
}
Download raw JSONL data for catch a Tartar meaning in English (3.3kB)
This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2025-03-26 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2025-03-21 using wiktextract (fef8596 and 633533e). 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.
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