It is part of a longer phrase: " The trouble with grabbing a tiger by the tail is that sooner or later you have to let go." It basically means that you should be very wary of the consequences of your actions.
Literally, but unlikely is :"The monkey would be crazy to grab a tiger by the tail."But the idiom suggests doing this figuratively, by taking an action that can have unwanted negative repercussions. To have or grab a tiger by the tail is to initiate an uncontrollable situation. With the variant "to have a bear by the tail", this is comparable to "biting off more than you can chew"."After his first day of trying to run the business, he knew he had a tiger by the tail.""Without any real experience, selling on E-bay can be like catching a tiger by the tail."
It means to step up to a dangerous situation and do your best. If you grab a bear by its tail, you're going to have to hold on and try to avoid getting killed, so this image is of you walking right up to the situation and taking charge.
The idiom originally referred to playing card games in Old West saloons, more specifically the game of faro, or more rarely poker. The primary slang term was "bucking the tiger." In modern use, the idiom has often been applied similarly to "pulling the tiger's tail," meaning deliberately antagonizing a person or group where this could be considered risky.
Latin for caud(a) - tail
Grab someone
Do something immediately to the best of a persons ability.
Literally, but unlikely is :"The monkey would be crazy to grab a tiger by the tail."But the idiom suggests doing this figuratively, by taking an action that can have unwanted negative repercussions. To have or grab a tiger by the tail is to initiate an uncontrollable situation. With the variant "to have a bear by the tail", this is comparable to "biting off more than you can chew"."After his first day of trying to run the business, he knew he had a tiger by the tail.""Without any real experience, selling on E-bay can be like catching a tiger by the tail."
You grab a cow by the tail and shouit holte.
The kookaburra does not have a tiger tail.
If you grab the _______ by the tail, the tail might come off in your hand.
Tiger by the Tail was created in 1955.
The Tiger's Tail was created in 2006.
The duration of The Tiger's Tail is 1.78 hours.
A tiger's tail is longer than a lion's.
Tiger tail seahorse was created in 1850.
Pull Tiger Tail was created in 2006.
Si tenes Tigris caudam eius nonne melius consilium habent dentes.