Meaning
A situation in which a minor or subordinate part controls or dictates to the larger, more important whole - for instance when a peripheral issue drives an organization's decisions, or a small member steers a coalition's policy. Usually a predicate describing an unhealthy reversal of proper influence. Neutral register, common in political and business commentary; always mildly critical of the arrangement described. Regional use: American English (origin); now General English.
Origin
American. Phrase Finder's earliest citation is the Memphis Daily Post of October 1866, on an attempt to make a party 'the tail wag the dog', and US instances multiply from the 1860s while none appear from other countries until well into the 20th century; a Boston Daily Globe cartoon caption of April 1891 spelled out the reversal in politics. The image is self-explanatory: the dog wags the tail, so a tail that wags the dog inverts the natural direction of control. The expression was given a fresh burst of currency by Barry Levinson's political satire Wag the Dog (1997), which took its title from the idiom and opened with a caption explaining it.
Research Sources
References used to check this entry’s meaning, history, or documented forms.
Variants
- a case of the tail wagging the dog
- the tail is wagging the dog
- the tail wags the dog
- wag the dog
Usage Examples
- A two-person social-media team now sets editorial policy for the whole magazine; it is the tail wagging the dog.
- Critics warned that letting border disputes steer the entire trade agreement was a case of the tail wagging the dog.
- In that household the toddler clearly wags the dog: bedtimes, menus, and holidays all bend to her moods.