tail wagging the dog



tail wagging the dog

a situation where a small part is controlling the whole of something. John was just hired yesterday, and today he's bossing everyone around. It's a case of the tail wagging the dog. Why is this small matter taking so much time? Now it's the tail wagging the dog!
See also: dog, tail, wag

Common Names:

NameGenderPronouncedUsage
Atherton['æθətən]
Ellison['elisən]
HyeonhyunKorean
AlenAHL-en (Croatian)Croatian, Slovene
Johannekeyo-HAHN-nə-kəDutch
Dagmar['dægma:]