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- DictionaryThe tail wags the dog
- ▪ the less important or subsidiary factor, person, or thing dominates a situation; the usual roles are reversed
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The phrase “wag the dog” is a popular idiom that has been used for decades to describe a situation where someone tries to distract attention from an important issue by focusing on something less significant. This idiom has its roots in ancient times when people used dogs to hunt animals.
Mar 1, 2018 · What does wag the dog mean? To wag the dog means to distract attention away from a political scandal, often through military action. Where does wag the dog come from?
1. verb In politics, to orchestrate some high-profile event or action in order to distract from something negative or damaging, usually a scandal of some kind. Derived from the phrase "the tail wagging the dog" and popularized by the 1997 satirical film Wag the Dog.
Origin. 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 “. The phrase in discussion is the shorter version of the same. The phrase is also the tittle of a black comedy film from 1997.
Unraveling 'Wag the Dog': Decoding a Popular English Idiom • Discover the hidden meaning behind the widely used English idiom 'Wag the Dog' and how it applie...
The phrase “wag the dog” refers to a strategy where a political leader engages in diversionary tactics—often involving military action or another high-stakes maneuver—to distract the public from a pending or existing scandal, crisis, or failure.
To 'wag the dog' means to purposely divert attention from what would otherwise be of greater importance, to something else of lesser significance. By doing so, the lesser-significant event is catapulted into the limelight, drowning proper attention to what was originally the more important issue.
