Definition, Meaning & Synonyms

tar-baby

Noun

/ˈtɑːr ˌbeɪ.bi/

Definition

A tar-baby is a figure of speech derived from an Aesop-like story that refers to a situation that becomes more troublesome the more one tries to get rid of it.

Examples

He tried to negotiate his way out of the argument, but he just created a tar-baby situation that got worse.
Working on that project was a tar-baby; the more I fixed it, the more problems I uncovered.

Meaning

The term is often used to describe an encounter that gets more complicated or messy with every attempt to resolve it, usually through futile or counterproductive efforts.