have the wolf by the ear

短语

发音

AU

词形变化

had the wolf by the ear has the wolf by the ear 三单 has the wolf by the ear having the wolf by the ear having the wolf by the ear 现在分词 had the wolf by the ear 过去式 had the wolf by the ear 过去分词

释义与例句

v.
  1. 1.

    To be in a dangerous situation from which one cannot disengage, but in which one cannot safely remain.

    习语

词源

Initially attributed to Roman Emperor Tiberius circa year 1 AD by biographer C. Suetonius Tranquillus. United States, 1820, Thomas Jefferson, writing about the institution of slavery and the Missouri Compromise: : "But, as it is, we have the wolf by the ear, and we can neither hold him nor safely let him go. Justice is in one scale, and self-preservation in the other." :: — Thomas Jefferson to John Holmes (discussing slavery and the Missouri question), Monticello, 22 April 1820

来源：wiktionary