🐶 Dog
"The tail wagging the dog"
Meaning
A small part controls the whole situation.
About the dog
Dogs are common, loyal companions woven into everyday life, so their idioms span hard work, luck, and devotion.
Example sentence
When one noisy child controlled the whole class, it was the tail wagging the dog.
Test yourself
Which idiom means...
A small part controls the whole situation.
More dog idioms
DogIdiom
"Barking up the wrong tree"
To blame the wrong person or look in the wrong place.
DogIdiom
"Dog-eat-dog"
A situation where people compete fiercely and care mostly about winning.
DogIdiom
"Dog days of summer"
The hottest and most tiring days of summer.
DogIdiom
"Let sleeping dogs lie"
Do not bring up an old problem that could cause trouble again.
DogIdiom
"You can't teach an old dog new tricks"
It is hard to change old habits.
DogIdiom
"All bark and no bite"
Someone who sounds threatening but is not really dangerous.