with one's tail between one's legs
Meaning: Humiliated and defeated.
Language: English
Literally: (Already vivid in English)
Example: “The team went home with their tail between their legs.”
Category: Animals
Origin: A frightened or beaten dog tucks its tail between its legs. The figurative use is found from the 18th century.
Equivalents in other languages
- Spanish: con el rabo entre las piernas — literally: with the tail between the legs
- French: Avoir la queue entre les jambes — literally: To have one's tail between one's legs
More idioms — Animals
- a workhorse — A person or machine that does a large amount of hard, reliable work.
- bite the hand that feeds you — To harm or insult someone who helps you.
- in two shakes of a lamb's tail — Very quickly.
- the bee's knees — Something or someone excellent.
- at a snail's pace — Very slowly.
- the lean years — A period of hardship and scarcity.
More English idioms
- have a foot in both camps — To be involved with two opposing sides at once.
- deaf as a post — Completely deaf.
- ugly as sin — Very ugly.
- terra firma — Solid ground, as opposed to the sea or the air.
- the sandman is coming — It's time to sleep; someone is getting sleepy.
- soaked to the skin — Completely wet.
From our proverbs
- Better go to bed supperless than to rise in debt. — Missing one meal causes less harm than owing money that disrupts your future financial fr…
- A good surgeon must have an eagle's eye, a lion's heart, and a lady's hand. — Surgical excellence demands keen observation, fearless courage, and delicate precision wo…
- One swallow does not make a summer. — A single favorable occurrence cannot establish a lasting pattern; sustained evidence requ…