tar baby
or tar·ba·by
- a situation, problem, or the like, that is almost impossible to solve or to break away from.
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Origin of tar baby
after the tar doll used to trap Brer Rabbit in an Uncle Remus story (1881) of Joel Chandler Harris
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for tar baby
Contemporary Examples
In any case, Mofaz appears to have hit the tar-baby between the eyes.
Historical Examples
He'll cut no more figure than a tar-baby at a Negro camp-meeting.
The Life and Letters of Walter H. Page, Volume IIBurton J. Hendrick