英和和英

動詞

have the world by the tail

1. (idiomatic) To possess great influence and opportunity.
   • 1919, William MacLeod Raine, A Man Four-Square, ch. 15:

     "Webb thinks he's got the world by the tail for a downhill pull. I'll show him."

   • 1938 Feb. 28, "Give Us Colonies!!," Time (retrieved 7 August 2013):

     No nation had the World by the tail this week, but the rear end of the British lion was within measurable distance of Adolf Hitler's grasp.

   • 1992 Sept. 24, Sara Rimer, "Company News: Hearing the Fears, With No Answers," New York Times (retrieved 7 August 2013):

     "You think you're set. You think everything's taken care of. I thought I had the world by the tail."

使用する際の注意点

• Also appears in such similar phrases as grab the world by the tail, got the world by the tail.
• Often used in describing a situation in which a person possesses great, and perhaps excessive, self-confidence.

参考

• have someone by the short hairs