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Meaning of "tar baby" in the English dictionary

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DICTIONARY
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ETYMOLOGY OF THE WORD TAR BABY

After the tar-covered doll in a story (1881) by Joel Chandler Harris.
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Etymology is the study of the origin of words and their changes in structure and significance.
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PRONUNCIATION OF TAR BABY

tar baby play
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GRAMMATICAL CATEGORY OF TAR BABY

noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation
Tar baby is a noun.
A noun is a type of word the meaning of which determines reality. Nouns provide the names for all things: people, objects, sensations, feelings, etc.

WHAT DOES TAR BABY MEAN IN ENGLISH?

tar baby

Tar-Baby

The Tar-Baby is a fictional character in the second of the Uncle Remus stories published in 1881; it is a doll made of tar and turpentine used to entrap Br'er Rabbit. The more that Br'er Rabbit fights the Tar-Baby, the more entangled he becomes. In modern usage, "tar baby" refers to any "sticky situation" that is only aggravated by additional contact.

Definition of tar baby in the English dictionary

The definition of tar baby in the dictionary is a troublesome situation that is made worse by attempts to extricate oneself from it.

WORDS THAT BEGIN LIKE TAR BABY

tar
tar and feather
tar boy
tar sand
tara
Taraba
Tarabulus el Gharb
Tarabulus esh Sham
taradiddle
taraire
tarakihi
tarama
taramasalata
taramea
Taranaki
Taranaki gate
Taranaki wind
tarand
tarantass
tarantella

WORDS THAT END LIKE TAR BABY

baby
Band-Aid baby
be left holding the baby
blue baby
boom baby
bushbaby
crybaby
designer baby
grandbaby
jelly baby
like taking candy from a baby
Plunket baby
rhesus baby
snowflake baby
test-tube baby
thalidomide baby
war baby

Synonyms and antonyms of tar baby in the English dictionary of synonyms

SYNONYMS

Translation of «tar baby» into 25 languages

TRANSLATOR
online translator

TRANSLATION OF TAR BABY

Find out the translation of tar baby to 25 languages with our English multilingual translator.
The translations of tar baby from English to other languages presented in this section have been obtained through automatic statistical translation; where the essential translation unit is the word «tar baby» in English.

Translator English - Chinese

焦油宝宝
1,325 millions of speakers

Translator English - Spanish

bebé de alquitrán
570 millions of speakers

English

tar baby
510 millions of speakers

Translator English - Hindi

टार बच्चे
380 millions of speakers
ar

Translator English - Arabic

طفل القطران
280 millions of speakers

Translator English - Russian

тар ребенок
278 millions of speakers

Translator English - Portuguese

bebê tar
270 millions of speakers

Translator English - Bengali

টা শিশুর
260 millions of speakers

Translator English - French

bébé de goudron
220 millions of speakers

Translator English - Malay

Bayi tar
190 millions of speakers

Translator English - German

tar Baby
180 millions of speakers

Translator English - Japanese

タールの赤ちゃん
130 millions of speakers

Translator English - Korean

타르 아기
85 millions of speakers

Translator English - Javanese

Tar bayi
85 millions of speakers
vi

Translator English - Vietnamese

tar bé
80 millions of speakers

Translator English - Tamil

தார் குழந்தை
75 millions of speakers

Translator English - Marathi

Tar बाळ
75 millions of speakers

Translator English - Turkish

Katranlı bebek
70 millions of speakers

Translator English - Italian

tar bambino
65 millions of speakers

Translator English - Polish

smoła dziecko
50 millions of speakers

Translator English - Ukrainian

тар дитина
40 millions of speakers

Translator English - Romanian

tar copil
30 millions of speakers
el

Translator English - Greek

μωρό πίσσα
15 millions of speakers
af

Translator English - Afrikaans

teer baba
14 millions of speakers
sv

Translator English - Swedish

tjära bebis
10 millions of speakers
no

Translator English - Norwegian

tar Baby
5 millions of speakers

Trends of use of tar baby

TRENDS

TENDENCIES OF USE OF THE TERM «TAR BABY»

The term «tar baby» is regularly used and occupies the 104.599 position in our list of most widely used terms in the English dictionary.
0
100%
FREQUENCY
Regularly used
51
/100
The map shown above gives the frequency of use of the term «tar baby» in the different countries.
Principal search tendencies and common uses of tar baby
List of principal searches undertaken by users to access our English online dictionary and most widely used expressions with the word «tar baby».

FREQUENCY OF USE OF THE TERM «TAR BABY» OVER TIME

The graph expresses the annual evolution of the frequency of use of the word «tar baby» during the past 500 years. Its implementation is based on analysing how often the term «tar baby» appears in digitalised printed sources in English between the year 1500 and the present day.

Examples of use in the English literature, quotes and news about tar baby

EXAMPLES

10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «TAR BABY»

Discover the use of tar baby in the following bibliographical selection. Books relating to tar baby and brief extracts from same to provide context of its use in English literature.
1
Tar Baby
Ravishingly beautiful and emotionally incendiary, Tar Baby is Toni Morrison’s reinvention of the love story.
Toni Morrison, 2007
2
Tar Baby and Other Rhymes of Uncle Remus
Fifteen rhymes and eleven songs of Uncle Remus, including the Tar-Baby story in rhymed form.
Joel Chandler Harris, 2005
3
Bruh Rabbit and the Tar Baby Girl
In this retelling, using Gullah speech, of a familiar story the wily Brer Rabbit outwits Brer Fox who has set out to trap him.
‎2003
4
The Tar Baby Option: American Policy toward Southern Rhodesia
The book provides information essential to an understanding of the American approach to the current crisis in the region.
Anthony Lake, 2013
5
The Tar Baby
Cast in the form of a hilariously ribald parody of a literary quarterly, The Tar Baby is a brilliant, audacious, story-filled novel populated by an array of brawling academics and earthy townies.
Jerome Charyn, 1995
6
Tar baby: tales of Brer Rabbit
In this pre-Loony Toons world of sassy, talking beasts, Brer Rabbit is the hero -- duelling both verbally and physically with those who would eat him, and perpetually in the monstrous shadow of the Tar Baby.The casual publication in 1877 of ...
Joel Chandler Harris, 2000
7
Toni Morrison's Tar Baby
Our MAXnotes for Toni Morrison's "Tar Baby "study guide includes an overall summary, character lists, explanation and discussion of the plot, overview of the work's historical context, and a biography of the author.
Ann L. Wilson, Toni Morrison, 1998
8
Tar Baby (MAXNotes Literature Guides)
Each section of the work is individually summarized and analyzed, and has study questions and answers.
Ann Wilson, 2012
9
Brer Rabbit and the Tar Baby
Brer Rabbit is always playing tricks on Brer Fox. But, one day, Brer Fox thinks of a clever plan. Will he trick Brer Rabbit?
Jill McDougall, 2012
10
Night of the Tar Baby: Short Story
Or else. From Monstrous Affections, this tale is part of Stoker Award-winner David Nickle’s collection of short fiction about love in all its horrific proportions.
David Nickle, 2013

10 NEWS ITEMS WHICH INCLUDE THE TERM «TAR BABY»

Find out what the national and international press are talking about and how the term tar baby is used in the context of the following news items.
1
The Pulse: Obama denied the respect he deserves
... California, and now the Tar Heel State (though to a trade group of North and ... Obama's being called "uppity," "that boy," "tar baby," "socialist dictator," and ... «Philly.com, Jun 15»
2
East to Edinburgh: Tar Baby
Can American only dream in black & white? Huffington Post 'Favorite Female Comedian' Desiree Burch ("Welcome to Night Vale") decides in this funny, ... «New York Times, May 15»
3
The inadvertent slur that sticks to politicians
Along the way, Adkisson twice used the term “tar baby,” an expression with a complicated history, and long viewed as a racial slur. By sheer, unfortunate ... «San Antonio Express-News, Apr 15»
4
SI Vault: Long Ago He Won The Big One: Dean Smith's best victory
Any criticism of The Four Corners is his special tar baby, Smith never conceding—never conceding squared—when talk turns to The Four Corners and The ... «SI.com, Feb 15»
5
Wickham: GOP shows disdain for blacks
His verbal slushiness, used by other Republicans as well, was meant to draw attention to the dictionary description of "tar baby" as a sticky situation. But for ... «USA TODAY, Nov 14»
6
Politicians should stop using the phrase 'tar baby.' Like, now.
The same could also be said about the phrase "tar baby." While not nearly as toxic, prevalent or flat-out offensive as the n-word can be, "tar baby" is on the ... «Washington Post, Nov 14»
7
The Tar Baby and China
The major adversaries of the U.S. Empire are China, Russia and Iran. Of the three, China is the greatest threat to U.S. hegemony since its economy has already ... «CounterPunch, Nov 14»
8
Puppy rescued after falling into tar pit
UDAIPUR, India (CNN) - A five-month-old dog that fell into hot tar spilled around ... now affectionately known as "Tar Baby," has recovered successfully and has ... «KOKH FOX25, Oct 14»
9
'Tar Baby': Dog saved from tar pool in Udaipur, India
The tar, which had leaked from a container, solidified around the animal after it fell in. Animal Aid Unlimited, a non-governmental organisation which rescues ... «BBC News, Oct 14»
10
Tar Baby” and “Insurgents” (season four, episodes three and four …
There are times when season four of The Shield has all the dramatic integrity of a really good after-school special. With Vic on the chain for the most part—how ... «A.V. Club DC, Jun 14»

REFERENCE
« EDUCALINGO. Tar baby [online]. Available <https://educalingo.com/en/dic-en/tar-baby>. Apr 2024 ».
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