1874, There was no compromise promised and no alteration of the tactics the Communists have adopted from the first of reserving the right of the tail to wag the dog.— P. J. Philip, The New York Times, 7 Dec. 1936. Ha! Winter has returned along with cold weather. Meanwhile, the breadth of each tail sweep reveals whether the dog's emotional state is … I say yes.”— Michael Hirsch, Politico, 12 May 2014, U.S. Donald Trump seems ready to wag the dog by starting a war at home. Dun Now I’ve got another. The perception was that Trump was using the attack to wag the dog, or direct attention away from his low approval ratings, the ongoing investigation about his connections to Russia, and his other conflict of interests. The Tension Between the Powerful and the Powerless: Political Manipulation in "All the King's Horses" and 'Wag the Dog' In short term “the tail wagging the dog” signified or refers to something that has greater meaning such as a war being driven by something less such as sex scandal. Origin of Tail Wagging the Dog This expression first appeared in the 1800s. (verb) —used to describe a situation in which an important or powerful person, organization, etc., is being controlled by someone or something that is much less important or powerful Comments on the tail wagging the dog What made you want to look up the tail wagging the dog? 'All Intensive Purposes' or 'All Intents and Purposes'? Others have come from the world of theater, such as malapropism (“a usually humorous misapplication of a word or phrase”), from the name of a character in Richard Sheridan’s 1775 play The Rivals. Definition of wag in the Idioms Dictionary. Wag the Dog is an average dark comedy that relies on a great cast and an effective script. What's the origin of the phrase 'Tail wagging the dog - The'? The President of the United States is involved in a sex scandal. With Dustin Hoffman, Robert De Niro, Anne Heche, Woody Harrelson. Its earliest use is in the 1858 play Our American Cousin. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of Wag the Dog, directed by Barry Levinson. wag the dog: [verb] to distract attention from a more important subject. Later usage of the idiom also added the meaning of military action to distract from domestic scandal, associated with the film ' Wag the Dog ' and Bill Clinton's presidency. This film will be forever steeped in the world of Clinton and Monica Lewinski and the attack on Somalia for those who saw it in the theater in the late '90s. rather an informal word summary that hopefully touches upon the key aspects of the meaning and usage of wag the dog If he wasn’t the tail would wag the dog.” Sharp reasoning, that.— The Union Democrat (Manchester, NH), 12 May 1863, ”Why,” says his lordship, “the reason is because the dog is greater than the tail.” “If it were otherwise,” says that profound thinker, ”the tail would wag the dog.” [Laughter.] Where does wag the dog come from? We define this phrase “used to describe a situation in which an important or powerful person, organization, etc., is being controlled by someone or something that is much less important or powerful.” As noted by linguist Ben Zimmer, the phrase originated in Tom Taylor's 1858 play Our American Cousin. House impeaches Trump again. The tail wagging the dog is an American idiom that dates back to at least the 1870s. It did not take long for the form to change slightly, and wag was substituted for waggle. 2001, The Obama team was focusing on the kidnapped Nigerian girls in order to divert attention from the congressional probe, West wrote. People talk about the tail wagging the dog to describe a situation where an unimportant part of something or an unimportant person or group involved in something has too much influence over it. Since the election split the country in two, half almost automatically disagreeing with whatever Bush decides, most of his quick actions have drawn much criticism. The 1997 film Wag the Dog shortened the phrase and added the additional meaning of "superfluous (military) action in order to distract from domestic scandal." wag phrase. The phrase is also the tittle of a black comedy film from 1997. This is not meant to be a formal definition of wag the dog like most terms we define on Dictionary.com, but is The metaphor is that the tail wags the dog, meaning that the tail: the media is smarter that the dog: society. Ha!— Tom Taylor, Our American Cousin, 1869. The plot revolved around efforts to distract attention from a presidential scandal by fabricating a war. Lord Dundreary, a fictional British nobleman, makes a number of execrable jokes in this play. Learn a new word every day. The phrase “tail wagging the dog” predated the movie, but it took on its current specific meaning in the political lexicon—concocting a national security crisis … A strategy can be referred to as “a real wag the dog tactic,” or you can say that “The prime minister is wagging the dog with this accusation.” It can also be used as a hashtag to call attention to a person’s use of this strategy. 'Nip it in the butt' or 'Nip it in the bud'. This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. The story intruded into real politics not long after its release. To wag the dog means to distract attention away from a political scandal, often through military action. In 1997, a film called Wag the Dog came out, based on a 1993 novel of the same name by Larry Beinhart. Wag the Dog is a 1997 political black comedy film, co-written by David Mamet and directed by Barry Levinson.. From the phrase, 'It's the tail that wags the dog.' In the film, titled Wag the Dog, fictional political fixers orchestrate the invasion of a country in order to distract from a presidential sex scandal. Check out words from the year you were born and more! Dun Because the tail can’t waggle the dog. Although wag the dog was initially applied to Clinton, the sense of ‘superfluous military action to distract from domestic scandal’ has been too useful to leave in the 1990s, and has been applied to every subsequent president. And others still appear to have come from both media. Wag the Dog is an incredibly witty movie, a rare blend of cynicism, humour, and intelligence. To 'wag the dog' means to purposely divert attention from what would otherwise be of greater importance, to something else of lesser significance. Definitions by the largest Idiom Dictionary. Why Dogs Wag Their Tails Given that we’ve already gotten two distinct meanings from theater and film, it’s also possible that some future use of the phrase will be added by a music video or puppet show. Wag the Dog After being caught in a scandalous situation days before the election, the president does not seem to have much of a chance of being re-elected. The tail wagging the dog is an idiom that usually refers to something important or powerful being controlled by something less so. Wag The Dog (1,944) IMDb 7.2 1 h 37 min 1997 X-Ray R A tale of politics, power and Hollywood so outrageous it could be true! In April 2017, Donald Trump’s airstrike on Syria was referred to as a wag the dog moment. The President of the United States (Michael Belson) is caught making sexual advances to an underage "Firefly Girl" (the fictional equivalent of a Girl Scout).His timing could not be worse, as there is a presidential election coming up. wag the dog to cause a persuasive movement in any large body of influence, i.e., a mass of people, through means by which a lesser influence is utilized. [Laughter]— The Baltimore Sun, 4 May 1868, The idiom appears in a variety of forms over the next hundred years or so, typically in the sense of ‘a less important thing controlling a more important one.’, Ordinarily the resolution is of more importance than the preamble, but here the relation is reversed. Redefine your inbox with Dictionary.com updates. Before the film Wag the Dog and its allusive application to the Clinton scandal, the idiom wag the dog was more commonly used with or in reference to the full phrase, the tail wagging the dog, i.e., a reversal of proper roles. The phrase ‘Wag the Dog’ is used to indicate that attention is purposely being diverted from something of greater importance to something of lesser importance. Wag the Dog (1997) Plot. Wrap yourself in a blanket and challenge yourself with our 14-question quiz about words relating to winter. Some presidents, when they get into trouble before an election, try to “wag the dog” by starting a war abroad. The description of the title set the satirical tone of the movie which is a comedy about how public opinion was … The phrase originates in the saying "a dog is smarter than its tail, but if the tail were smarter, then it would wag the dog." Biden sworn in as 46th President, impeach “Are we witnessing an Obama ‘Wag the Dog’ moment with Boko Haram in Nigeria? But even if it was - and I'm not saying it was - it was the right thing to do.”— Indianapolis Star, 21 Aug. 1998. The tail wagging the dog is an idiom that usually refers to something important or powerful being controlled by something less so. Its earliest use is in the 1858 play Our American Cousin. A dog is smarter than it’s tail. If the tail were smarter it would wag the dog. Why does a dog waggle his tail? What does wag expression mean? In 1998, when Bill Clinton’s scandal regarding Monica Lewinsky broke, he was accused of “wagging the dog.” Three days after admitting he had inappropriate relations with Lewinsky, he ordered missile strikes against two countries, allegedly to divert public attention from his sex scandal. But do you know what canine tail wagging really means? The basic premise is simple: Very close to the general election, the sitting U.S. president is accused of … Since then, wag the dog has come to be used on its own and as a term for a political diversion. Directed by Barry Levinson. Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible). Ambassador Nikki Haley's recent warning to the United Nations Security Council that civil unrest in Nicaragua poses a threat to the stability of Central America may have set the stage for Donald Trump's "Wag the Dog" moment.— The Jackson Sun (Jackson, TN), 13 Sept. 2018. The speed of the wag indicates how excited the dog is. A wagging tail is a form of dog communication. Wag the Dog essays are academic essays for citation. The joke quickly became part of our vernacular, although the theatrical origins were often omitted (the line was sometimes attributed to a real, rather than fictional, lord). The phrase in discussion is the shorter version of the same. To divert negative political attention by use of a military operation. To wag the dog means to distract attention away from a political scandal, often through military action. It is a new version of Dundreary’s conundrum, a clear case of the tail wagging the dog, because it is stronger than the dog.— The Detroit Free Press, 5 Apr. Animals, Circumstances, Dog W 1 Thought when it rains, it pours ❯❮ up a blind alley Wag the dog can be used as a verb or an adjective. #WagTheDog”, “After a while, the negative tape starts to become a self-fulfilling prophecy and the tail starts to wag the dog.”. One of his advisors (Deniro) contacts a top hollywood producer (Hoffman) in order to manufacture a war in Albania that the president can heroically end, all through mass media. Wag the dog can be used as a verb or an adjective. Wag the dog is, in politics, the act of creating a diversion from a damaging issue. Research by Gary Martin for the UK-based website Phrase Finder first finds the expression in an 1872 local newspaper, The Daily Republican: “Calling to mind Lord Dundreary’s conundrum, the Baltimore American thinks that for the Cincinnati Convention to control the Democratic party would be the tail wagging the dog.” For the tail to wag the dog, then and now, indicates a backwards situation where a small or unimportant entity (the tail) controls a bigger, more important one (the dog). Study Up With Our Official SCRABBLE Dictionary, Words From 1921: 100 Years Old and Still Around. According to research Barry Popik, the variation, don’t let the tax tail wag the investment dog, emerged in the 1960s to caution businesspeople against making decisions solely on the bases of tax concerns. Set your young readers up for lifelong success. Obviously, it comes from the idea that a dog wags its tail when it’s happy. A dog should wag its own tail, but sometimes something less important can control something more powerful, and that is the original meaning of 'the tail wagging the dog.' There is a popular saying which goes "a dog is smarter than its tail, but if the tail were smarter, then the tail would wag the dog". In fall 1998, the independent special counsel delivered his report on the Clinton investigation. Definition: Something small or not powerful controlling something big or powerful. The idiomatic expression “wag the dog” is obliquely a reference to the idea that a dog begins manifesting a demonstration of emotion by first wagging its tail. An example of this is the idiom the tail wagging the dog. There isn't a specific incident that it refers to that can be located there but there are many instances of it in print in US publications from the 1870s onwards, whereas there are none that come from any other country until well into the 20th century. These enormous contracts can end up with the tail wagging the dog — with the supplier having more control over the business agenda than the client. A 1997 film, directed by Barry Levinson, brought about a shortened version of the idiom, and added a new meaning. Dogs wag their tails to tell us something about how they're feeling, just as they do with other forms of body language. Showing all 4 items Jump to: Summaries (3) Synopsis (1) Summaries. The tail is wagging the dog definition: If you say that the tail is wagging the dog , you mean that a small or unimportant part... | Meaning, pronunciation, translations and examples The movie is about a spin doctor working for the Presidential re-election campaign, who must create a situation that will distract the public from the President's scandalous affairs. Enjoyable, but could have been better, this film is a bit dull at times and suffers from a so-so script. Example of Use: “He’s wagging the dog to keep you from discovering the truth about the car wreck.” canard It is uncertain whether the longer or the shorter form of the idiom will supplant the other, or if both will end up in use with their individual senses. “Will someone teach @realDonaldTrump how to wag the dog without actually going to war?”, “My fear is that Trump is doing this so that in our outrage we miss what his real agenda is. How to use a word that (literally) drives some pe... Winter has returned along with cold weather. Shortly before an election, a spin-doctor and a Hollywood producer join efforts to fabricate a war in order to cover up a Presidential sex scandal. I, along with many political experts, believe that this action by Bush was a classic case of "wag the dog" syndrome.— Pantagraph (Bloomington, IL), 2 Mar. Sometimes words or phrases come into English from the world of film, as in paparazzi (the plural form of a word for a type of freelance photographer) taken from the name of a character in Fellini’s 1959 film La dolce vita. The 1997 film Wag the Dog shortened the phrase and added the additional meaning of "superfluous (military) action in order to distract from domestic scandal.". Rep. Dan Burton, R-Ind., a staunch critic of Clinton, said of Thursday's military strikes: "I'd hate to think this was a Wag the Dog-type thing. As in the Wag the Dog movie, Clinton had his own act two. The answer to a riddle, “Why does a dog wag his tail?” is answered by an English nobleman, who says it is “because the dog is stronger than his tail. Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free! … This can be seen when a dog begins to wag it's tail, and it's body then follows. that will help our users expand their word mastery. Shortly before an election, a spin-doctor and a Hollywood producer join efforts to fabricate a war in order to cover up a Presidential sex scandal. It stems from the generic use of the term to mean a small and seemingly unimportant entity (the tail) controls a bigger, more important one (the dog). Here was an instance, Mr. Speaker, where the smallest kind of a rat terrier’s tail attempts to wag a New Foundland dog. Wag the Dog is a Warner Bros. released movie in 1997. By doing so, the lesser-significant event is catapulted into the limelight, drowning proper attention to what was originally the more important issue. As the movie was released shortly before President Clinton was embroiled in a real-life sex scandal, the title began being used in an attributive fashion, applied to military actions. A strategy can be referred to as “a real wag the dog tactic,” or you can say that “The prime minister is wagging the dog with this accusation.” It can also be used as a hashtag to call attention to a person’s use of this strategy. Flo Upon my word, I never inquired. WAG THE DOG shows how that kind of corruption could be played out in the TV age. Trump lawyer argues before Senate, inaugurate, inauguration What does wag-the-dog mean? A dog that is tentative about meeting a new person or another dog may wag his tail ever so slightly to indicate that he is insecure. This expression probably originated in the USA. Wag the dog went on to develop its own specialized political meaning. Wag the dog comes from the longer expression the tail wagging the dog. Delivered to your inbox!