turn tail

Idioms  

1. Run away, as in When they heard the sirens, the boys turned tail. This term alludes to an animal's turning its back in flight. [Mid-1500s]

---

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

turn tail

Instead, the player nicknamed “The Alien” puts a forcefield around the basket—making would-be attackers turn tail and run away.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 2, 2026

Stick it out long enough, and they’ll turn on their own allies, start fighting among themselves, turn tail and run away.

From Salon ● Mar. 8, 2025

The backlash became so intense that even Mr. Musk’s most strident supporters seemed to turn tail.

From New York Times ● Dec. 18, 2022

You’ve now got a monster that would make Godzilla turn tail.

From Seattle Times ● Jul. 17, 2022

They’d worked too hard to get a lead on Mr. Flux to simply turn tail.

From "The Last Last-Day-of-Summer" by Lamar Giles