"tar baby"の定義と意味

Tar baby

名詞

タールベイビー, 解決が難しくなる問題

a problem that becomes more difficult to deal with the more one tries to solve it

Idiom

Informal

What is the origin of the idiom "tar baby" and when to use it?

The idiom "tar baby" originates from African-American folklore and gained wider recognition through the Uncle Remus stories written by Joel Chandler Harris in the late 19th century. In the stories, the tar baby is a doll made of tar and turpentine used by Br'er Fox to trap Br'er Rabbit. This expression has since evolved to represent a situation or problem that becomes more difficult to handle the more one gets involved with it.

Example

The politician found himself entangled in a tar baby of scandals and controversies, making it challenging for him to restore his reputation.

その政治家はスキャンダルや論争のタールベイビーに絡まり、自身の評判を回復するのが難しくなってしまった。

Once I started arguing with my sibling about a trivial matter, it turned into a tar baby, and we could n't find a way to resolve the issue peacefully.

私が兄弟とほんの些細なことで口論を始めたら、それはタールベイビー、解決が難しくなる問題に変わり、私たちはその問題を平和に解決する方法を見つけられなかった。