proverb · Words worth keeping
Don’t catch a leopard by the tail; but if you do, don’t let go.
Don’t catch a leopard by the tail; but if you do, don’t let go.
Historical period not yet established
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
A leopard’s tail not to be caught but then not released pictures a perilous entanglement once begun. The saying contrasts avoiding a situation with the difficulty of leaving it.
What the words are saying
The animal scene is metaphorical and supplies no safe handling or escape method. A qualified application can examine how a commitment changes available options without requiring a person to remain in danger. Support, exit and alternatives can still be appropriate.
Everyday example
Someone considers how an undertaking may constrain later choices and seeks support if it has become harmful.
When to use it
Use it only as a qualified entanglement image.
What it does not mean
No wildlife procedure or duty to continue a harmful situation is established.
Agent-assisted editorial interpretation. This explains the words; it does not by itself verify their author or earliest origin.
Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- Traditional
Attribution: traditional - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- Historical period not yet established
No sufficiently supported historical placement has been established. Import and download dates are not treated as composition dates. - Recorded source
- Contributor-provided wisdom reference (2014 AD)
Supplied reference B; unit 545; PDF page 52; collection label: Assyria/Ethiopia
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.
- Culture
- Assyria/Ethiopia