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general::
Phrase(s): have a tiger by the tail [and] have got a tiger by the tail; have a bear by the tail
Fig. to have become associated with something powerful and potentially dangerous; to have a very difficult problem to solve. • You have a tiger by the tail. You bit off more than you could chew. • You’ve had a bear by the tail ever since you agreed to finish that big project.
McGrawhill's American Idioms And Phrasal Verbs