| 释义 |
noun teɪlteɪl 1The hindmost part of an animal, especially when prolonged beyond the rest of the body, such as the flexible extension of the backbone in a vertebrate, the feathers at the hind end of a bird, or a terminal appendage in an insect. 尾巴 the dog's tail began to wag frantically Example sentencesExamples - Typical examples of sexually selected traits are the exaggerated long male tails of many birds.
- He looked to the brown dog, who immediately began wagging her tail.
- I measured body length from snout to base of the tail for all animals captured since 1988.
- I followed, trying repeatedly to get a good look, but they never allowed me more than a glimpse of their tails as they disappeared beyond the next bend.
- Most breeders use the technique known as ‘banding’, in which a ligature is placed over the end of a puppy's tail within four days of birth.
- North American river otters are semi-aquatic mammals, with long, streamlined bodies, thick tapered tails, and short legs.
- During the acupuncture stimulation, animals were kept in plastic holders with their tails and hind legs protruding out.
- As part of the preening process, the birds rub a natural oil, which is secreted from a gland at the bottom of their tails, over their feathers.
- The tail, like the rest of the body, had no internal skeleton and was reinforced only by lines of scales.
- Their back and wing coverts are heavily barred with black, as are their rust-brown tails which terminate with a narrow white band.
- It's also possible that an Apatosaurus tail had a highly flexible extension, equivalent to a bullwhip's popper.
- During his courtship display, the male puffs up his body and fans his tail.
- The fossil turned out to be a composite of the body of a bird with the tail of a dinosaur.
- These tiny little birds, with short tails and sharply pointed bills, include only three species.
- Hoey demonstrated, using a gliding model of a raven, that the tail of such a bird may be used to function in this manner.
- Lastly, all chordates have a post-anal tail, or extension of the notochord and nerve cord past the anus.
- When not resting or feeding, they can move quickly, hopping on their hind legs with their tail held out stiffly behind.
- Its tail and flight feathers are black, and its back and head are dark brown.
- Each is named by some consistent feature of the tail, or the body, or sometimes both.
- He then uses this to explain why there are no post-anal fins in fish: the tail is itself an appendage.
Synonyms hindmost part, back end, appendage brush, scut, dock tailpiece, tail feathers hind part, hindquarters technical cauda, uropygium - 1.1 A slender backward prolongation of each hindwing in some butterflies.
（一些蝴蝶的）狭翅须 Example sentencesExamples - The butterflies have tiger striped underwings and little black tails on their back wings.
2A thing resembling an animal's tail in its shape or position, typically extending downwards or outwards at the end of something. 尾状物 大写字母Q拖出来的尾巴。 Example sentencesExamples - It's a big circle with a little tail… it looks like the product of a drunken sculptor.
- A number of Matisse's kite tails bear a shape that is ubiquitous in her oeuvre.
- Shaped like a kite, trailing its tail along the sea, Myanmar is the largest country on the Southeast Asian mainland.
- Next minute there are balloons with brightly coloured tails floating at ceiling level above Elvis' head.
- It retains the split tail to allow independent movement of the two halves of the wide saddle platform as the legs swing up and down.
- 2.1 The rear part of an aeroplane, with the tailplane and rudder.
（飞机）尾部 the fuselage tapers sharply towards the tail Example sentencesExamples - Engines, tails, landing gear, bomb-bay doors, wing flaps, and dozens of skin panels are removed.
- The canopy disintegrated and the wire shaved the top off AIRCDRE Pietsch's helmet before snapping on the tail of the aircraft.
- The four-winged fruit fly is severely handicapped - like a small plane with extra wings dangling from its tail.
- The outcry was such that the airline relented, the familiar red, white and blue made its way back onto the plane tails and planeloads of passengers breathed a sigh of relief.
- Here are some tips, facts and rules-of-thumb for making safe arrivals and departures with the wind at your tail.
- A glassed-in tail gunner compartment is to the rear of the tail.
- Use the rudder to keep the tail right behind the nose, independent of what you're doing with the ailerons.
- The force caused the blades to flap low enough to chop off the tail of the aircraft.
- The seam of the canopy and the weapon bay doors are sawtoothed and the vertical tails are canted at an angle.
- The rudder includes a separate yaw damper and the low tail is designed for post-stall stability.
- When turning, watch the track of the tail of the aircraft, as well.
- The tail unit comprises all-moving horizontal tail surfaces and a single-fin vertical tail fitted with a rudder.
- I twisted around in my seat and looked at the tail of the aircraft - it was engulfed in flames.
- Born with a straight tail and fastback fuselage, the first 172s were little more than 170s with a nosewheel.
- The biplane looked much like a Wright Flyer except it had only one propeller and a cross-shaped tail.
- However, the ships had H-beams, which allowed the tails of aircraft to be suspended over the side with the main gear remaining on the deck.
- At Fort Bliss, friends and family gathered under the tail of the plane with open arms as the soldiers disembarked.
- Unprotected at the tail of the aircraft they led precarious lives.
- Another example where this non-contact testing comes in handy is in testing elevator structures in aircraft tails.
- Before departing they are instructed to try and photograph identification numbers or aircraft tails, if possible, and bring back the evidence.
- 2.2 The lower or hanging part of a garment, especially the back of a shirt or coat.
（尤指衬衫或外套背部的）下摆 he wiped his hands on the tail of his grubby vest he stormed off, the tails of his jacket flapping behind him Example sentencesExamples - I sighed, and a cold breeze swept past me, lifting the tail of my coat.
- I'm crouching, and I'm sure the tail of my coat is getting soaked.
- Construction details are rounded out with single needle tailoring, hemmed sleeves and a vented tail.
- Desmond scoffed, and then flipping up the tail of his coat, turned to sit down on the chair beside Isabella's.
- Further into my day a man in a suit drove past on a bike, suit tails and tie blowing in the wind.
- A sudden wind swept up the tail of my coat, and flocks of bugs hung low in the air, predicting rain.
- While she had been reading, he had unbuttoned the dark green cotton shirt and untucked the tails from his jeans.
- Beginning at the tail, stitch the body long edge, leaving the upper edge open.
- The tail of his shirt and parts of his pants and underpants were burned.
- Just lick 'em and wipe with the tail of your shirt - you can taste when the glass is clean and when it's gritty.
- Button-ups with tails get tucked with a belt, anything else just rides in the wind.
- I could not grab hold of the tail of his shirt, tugging him toward me as I would have if he were still a small boy running heedless of danger into a busy street.
- One of the classics is petticoat tails, which are shaped in a segmented round.
- Nicanor wore a multicolored striped oxford shirt with the tails tied at his waist.
- A soft wind rustled the tails of his coat.
- Even wild and childish Kyle was poised behind his keyboard, black buttoned shirt, tails hanging unmannered over his casual blue jeans.
- He clearly could think of nothing else to say, so he took off his glasses and began polishing them on the tail of his shirt, as was his habit whenever he was thinking.
- Reaching for the tail of his shirt, Dori pulled it up slightly to inspect his side.
- Surely the best place for such tags would be on the tail of the shirt or some other low contact area.
- I cleaned it with the tail of my shirt, not exactly spotless, but passable.
- 2.3tailsinformal A tailcoat, or a man's formal evening suit with a tailcoat.
〈非正式〉燕尾服；（男子的）晚礼服 the men looked debonair in white tie and tails 男士们穿着燕尾服系着白领带看上去显得温文尔雅。 Example sentencesExamples - The members of the Royal Ascot Racing Club do not consider themselves a syndicate so much as a group of friends, and judging by the top hats and tails, the club has more than its fair share of the well-heeled.
- The couple have turned their hobby into a business, and the driving proves a welcome change for Mr Bower - a barrister in Manchester, who swops his legal attire for coat and tails at the weekend.
- It is shown alongside DiCaprio's dress coat with tails.
- Fred was top hat, white tie and tails, Gene was a baseball cap, T-shirt and jeans.
- He came faultlessly dressed in the formal white tie and tails, nor did he regale us with wise-cracking anecdotes about the music or some of his funny experiences in the past.
- Racegoers decked out in top hat and tails get ready for next month's Royal Ascot meeting at York Races yesterday.
- I once attended a ‘top hat and tails’ wedding to which an elderly uncle had been invited.
- He was in top hat, white tie and tails - attire with which a cane is optional.
- The one definite test for a new gentleman in Australia was that he had to be wealthy and a wealthy man could look like a gentleman once he had a large house and a carriage and dressed like a gentleman with top hat and tails.
- The theatrical element of the show though never let up with various song and dance set pieces featuring trapeze artists, skateboarders, a tap dancer in top hat and tails, and even a dancing bagpiper.
- Michael, 35, has opted for top hat and tails coupled with a salmon pink shirt and ties to match.
- He didn't go in his top hat and tails as it was relaxed dress and he was in a suit.
- He rejects the convention of wearing white tie and tails, preferring to conduct in a loose, floppy shirt that better suits his loose, floppy style.
- Dettori accompanied Sheikh Mohammed to the races at Royal Ascot wearing a top hat, tails, and a cast on his broken right ankle.
- The men would adorn themselves in top hat and tails, while the women MPs would deck themselves in fancy dresses and hats.
- But showing at least a residue of rebellion, Jagger shunned the traditional top hat and tails, opting for a long black leather coat, purple scarf and sports shoes.
- Dressed in top hat and tails, they toasted him with champagne and chanted ‘No Justice?’
- A tuxedo is required, and can include more formal tuxedos, such as evening tails.
- But Caron, like Ginger Rogers and Cyd Charisse before her, was dancing her way into the hearts of millions years before these young pretenders ever put on top hat and tails.
- A drunk is a drunk whether in cloth cap with whippet or in top hat and tails.
- 2.4 The luminous trail of particles following a comet.
彗尾 Example sentencesExamples - The first indication that the Sun might be emitting a ‘wind’ came in the seventeenth century from observations of comet tails.
- The tail is pushed outwards from the Sun by the solar wind and radiation pressure, and so the popular conception that a comet's tail streams away behind it is wrong.
- I leaned on the gate and saw the great wisps of clouds in the sky like comets' tails.
- It was Apian who first drew the tails of comets pointing away from the sun and not streaming out behind them.
- In our own solar system, the solar wind is responsible for shaping comets' tails and producing the Aurorae Borealis on Earth.
- Kitt Peak observations also identified a bright tail extending from the galaxy.
- Thanks to pick-up ion measurements, Ulysses can make observations of comet tails at large distances from the Sun.
- In 1985, it was sent to L2, and then through the tail of the Giacobini-Zinner comet.
- The refrigerator-sized satellite will collect dust particles from the tail of comet Wild 2 as the two pass each other on Friday morning.
- When Earth runs into an old comet tail we see a meteor shower.
- The gases, expelled as jets, drive out debris that had been embedded in the ice, endowing comets with their flamboyant tails.
- They will watch the material expelled from the comet get blown into the comet's tail.
- Originally classified as an asteroid, Chiron now appears to be icy - with a tail like a comet.
- The stunning apparition of a comet's tail was long regarded as a portent of doom and disaster, and in a way this is not too far from the mark.
- This stream of lost material is what gives rise to the characteristic comet tail.
- It is this solar wind - seen only in comet tails - that carries storms from the Sun to Earth.
- Solar wind is responsible for the direction of a comet's tail, which always points away from the Sun.
- The word ‘comet’ actually comes from a Greek word meaning ‘hairy star’ because of the tails that comets possess.
- The comet's tail is in fact made of dust grains and frozen gases from the comet's surface that vaporise because of the Sun's heat.
- They noted that comets had two tails - one of dust, one of ions - and only the dust tail could be explained by the pressure of sunlight pushing against the comet.
- 2.5 The lower end of a pool or stream.
（水池的）浅水端；（河流的）下游 shallow riffles and the tails of pools are prime feeding areas Example sentencesExamples - The light tackle had no chance of holding such a monster as it ran out of the tail of the pool, taking all of the line and backing with it, which snapped at the drum.
- We're at the tail of a big, deep pool, just where the water is beginning to speed up before cascading down into rapids.
- On reaching the tail of the Pool just below the power lines I hooked a fish, which I soon realised, was substantial.
- The large namesake rock was lodged in midstream, forming the tail of the pool.
- When we arrived I could see at the tail of the pool a super looking slack on the left hand bank which literally screamed chub.
- I tied on the sinker with its attendant fly and tossed the whole lot downstream into the rapids at the pool tail.
- As I fished through the tail of the pool I allowed the fly to swing into the slow shallow water close to my bank.
- 2.6 The exposed end of a slate or tile in a roof.
（屋瓦的）叠余外露部分 the slates are dressed with the bevelled tail and edge characteristic of thick, square stone roofing Example sentencesExamples - Nail a 1 x 6 facia board to seal and trim the end grain of the rafter tails.
- If the walls are crooked, the rafter tails will also be crooked.
- Try to correct this problem; but if you are unable to, pop a chalk line across the rafter tails and trim them with your saw before attaching the sheathing.
- 2.7Mathematics An extremity of a curve approaching the horizontal axis of a graph, especially that of a frequency distribution.
〔数〕截尾 Example sentencesExamples - The distribution has a single peak and a short tail extending toward larger numbers.
- A kind of occupational Darwinism ensures that such people are way up on the upper tail of the curve of verbal facility.
- The mean is higher than that because you have some real significant weight gain at the far right end of the tail of the bell curve.
- In that research, biologically meaningful T base estimates were obtained by excluding both lower and upper tails of cumulative germination curves, as was done here.
- A tail in each distribution extends toward values of higher modulation depth.
3The end of a long train or line of people or vehicles. （火车的）末节车厢；（人或车辆排成的长队的）尾端 a catering truck at the tail of the convoy 位于护运车队最后的餐车。 Example sentencesExamples - If menaced with an attack, the divisions at the head and tail of the convoy will keep their positions and repel the enemy by their fire should he attack.
- I lingered at the very tail of the crowd, trying to stay in the growing neutral zone between the cops and the rioters.
- 3.1 The final, more distant, or weaker part of something.
结尾；末梢 Example sentencesExamples - Tom found himself in familiar company at the back of the grid as Turkington and Thompson had also failed to finish the second race and the three of them lined up at the tail of the field.
- We got hit by the tails of the summer hurricanes and were switching between day and night shoots a lot.
- The sting of this title is in its tail: traditionally we have had dictionaries of Hellenic or Egyptian or Roman mythologies.
- When stretched, the filament becomes aligned with the flow of the soap film and very little disturbance, called streets, was observed at the tail of the thread.
- The pancreatic head lies cephalad to and well to the right of the umbilicus, and the tail of the pancreas extends to the spleen.
- They accumulate around the equator of Earth in the radiation belts and the tail of the magnetosphere in a dense region known as the plasma sheet.
Synonyms rear, end, back, extremity, conclusion bottom, lowest part British informal fag end close, end, conclusion, termination, tail end - 3.2Cricket The end of the batting order, with the weakest batsmen.
〔板球〕最弱的击球手 McDermott worked his way through the tail, finishing with ten wickets Example sentencesExamples - He and Darren Cousins have been opening the bowling for Northants, and Blain has also been contributing with the bat from his position deep in the tail.
- In a further twist, Gilchrist is out stumped second ball for four, exposing the tail, and, with five overs left, Australia are momentarily in danger of losing the Test.
- Australia's tail was now exposed although Gilchrist was still looming large at the crease.
- Aided by some resourceful batting from the tail, Durham's last five wickets added 181 runs, and by the close Somerset had lost four big wickets.
- Andy Harris cleaned up the tail to finish with 4 for 41 despite suffering a hand injury in the field.
4informal A person secretly following another to observe their movements. 〈非正式〉盯梢人 I can't put a tail on him, I don't know where he's gone Example sentencesExamples - Then again Jack had a reason to drive evasively; even if he hadn't detected a tail, which was likely.
- In a scene right out of The Sopranos, a tail followed a BFI truck out of the Lincoln Tunnel one evening and nearly ran it off the road in New Jersey.
Synonyms detective, investigator, private investigator, shadow informal sleuth, private eye, tec North American informal gumshoe, bogey, dick, private dick, shamus 5North American informal A person's buttocks. 〈非正式，主北美〉屁股 the coach kicked Ryan in his tail Example sentencesExamples - An honest man would have packed his bags, hopped in his truck, and hauled tail out of that place a long time ago.
Synonyms backside, behind, seat, rump, rear, rear end buttocks, backside, behind, seat, rump, rear, rear end - 5.1vulgar slang A woman's genitals.
〈粗俚〉女性生殖器 - 5.2mass noun Women collectively regarded in sexual terms.
〈非正式〉 总称（作为满足男人性欲的工具的）女人 I was getting worried that both of us would be chasing tail and getting into trouble for the rest of our lives
6tailsThe side of a coin without the image of a head on it (used when tossing a coin to determine a winner) 硬币的反面 the chances of heads and tails in the long run are equal Example sentencesExamples - Each coin has one side smoothed down flat and in theory this should be the tails side of the coin since it is illegal to deface an image of the monarch in England.
- This is ‘heads we win - tails you lose’ politics from the EU.
- Heads, David Ortiz lifts one over the Monster in the ninth inning; tails it's Albert Pujols.
- The coin landed tails, the outback was their destination and the pair set off in a T model Ford, nicknamed Henrietta.
- A mick is a throw of two tails; the tails side of a coin, or, the heads side of a coin.
- It had to decide: if this coin had to come down heads or tails, on what side should it fall?
- But that's what he has claimed, and that's what he's done, but every time the coin comes up tails - no war.
- The outcome, however, had no bearing on the probability of the coin landing tails before it was flipped.
- I toss opportunities like coins, and call tails when I've already caught a glimpse of the queen's crown.
- It has remained the past practice with Indian leaders to solve their own problems first and then leaving the problems of others unsolved which in other words means that heads we win and tails you lose.
- I've flipped a coin and it's tails, so I'm inviting Louise along tomorrow.
verb teɪlteɪl [with object]1informal Follow and observe (someone) closely, especially in secret. 〈非正式〉偷偷跟踪，盯…的梢 a flock of paparazzi had tailed them all over London Example sentencesExamples - He was tailed from a distance and followed on to a bus.
- Richard Tomlinson is racing down the autostrada just outside Rimini with two Italian secret service men tailing him.
- In fact, he called his brother and said I don't think I can make it to golf, you go ahead because I have these people tailing me.
- She was, for example, obsessed with death squads tailing her around New York, though for what purpose was never clear.
- They are also useful to have around if you are tailing someone and want to remain unnoticed.
- The little car next to the bus was being driven by KGB agents who were tailing him at the time.
- Every night, Chettier and other observers walk the streets, tail police officers, and document their activities.
- Ilyich growled, but knew that he was outmatched for the time being, so with great reluctance, he bolted out of the room as fast as possible, with Jerwon and Greg tailing him closely.
- Online shopping is hot this year with famous folk, since schlepping to FAO Schwartz with an entourage and a legion of paparazzi tailing you tends to negate the warm, holiday glow!
- He says he even lectured the FBI agents assigned to tail him, telling them to go back to school and study computers or something with a real future because their job was no good.
- We were tailed up the stairs by more than one guide-cum-secret agent, who first hovered and then circled repeatedly.
- In addition, ransom payments should not be filmed and media vehicles should not surreptitiously tail police cars to avoid blowing their cover, he added.
- Mysterious men tailed him, and rebel groups and tribal fighters at first tried to pressure him into using the radio to recruit among the young men and women listening to his broadcasts.
- When Casey played his first Nike tournament after the 1998 ruling there were some 150 media tailing him.
- The Mando-pop king is pretty much a nobody in the eyes of the European media, but the big-headed hot shot vented his frustration on members of the Taiwanese paparazzi who had been tailing him.
- Police went to intervene but Kitchen drove off in his car and refused to stop, despite police tailing him.
- In 1999, she was tailed by a television crew making Edinburgh or Bust.
- These tested the agents' ability in making contact with a ‘cut out’ (intermediate); tailing someone in a city; losing someone who was following him or her.
- Turkish and British police are thought to be investigating the possibility that he was tailed into the complex by the bomber.
- The secret police, the AVO, began to tail Douglas wherever he went.
- 1.1no object, with adverbial of direction Follow.
跟随 they went to their favourite cafe—Owen and Sally tailed along 他们去了他们最喜欢的咖啡馆——欧文和萨莉也跟着去了。 Example sentencesExamples - Announcements were being made in German, French and English for people to please move to the back of the square because the whole town was being jammed up with protesters tailing back from the square.
- Behind us my guards and H'risnth's entourage tailed along, Kh'hitch engaged in a subdued exchange with the ambassador.
- The problem was that he failed to clearly oppose the U.S. led invasion - tailing behind anything that the president said on the issue.
- Please tell me how he is better, given that he's lost two elections, and probably would have tailed after the president during the invasion.
- Yuki pranced up the path to the new Meshan's domain with Philonius tailing along behind her.
- To tail them, the private detective agency must have at least two different vehicles, so that they won't be discovered when tailing after one target.
- Gorden led the charge with 82 yards on five carries, while Griffen tailed with 63 yards on ten carries.
- Instantly, an image materialized, displaying three massive war ships tailing after the explorers in the wake of their engine disturbances.
- Queues tail back across arid fields, waiting their turn for this sophisticated drug which could transform the region - yet not even the water with which to take it can be provided, and everyone must bring a sip of their own.
- The CPP received 1.08 percent of the total votes in the National Assembly elections, tailing behind the alliance led by political science professor Chang Ya-chung.
- When he's on a job on the weekend, she's usually right beside her dad, tailing along.
- A web cam with its inactive little red light bulb sat next to the Notebook, its cord tailing out from its back.
- Not enough was done, and at times it felt our material was tailing after Royal Mail's rather than defining our own agenda.
- The decking market in Australia is huge, obviously tends to follow and tail along with the housing market in Australia.
- Max raced forward, Franny tailing close behind him, and Nanny followed the two of them.
- Another good reason to oppose this line of explanation is that it tails with the miserable excuses being offered up by Lynndie England.
- The remaining day's competition was fierce, with the Gecko's taking top spot, squeaking by the second place slithering Cobras, as the Tigers tailed behind in third place.
Synonyms follow, shadow, stalk, trail, track, hunt, hound, dog, trace, pursue, chase, give chase to, run after, keep under surveillance
2North American no object, with adverbial of direction (of an object in flight) drift or curve in a particular direction. 〈北美〉（飞行物体）（朝…）漂移，成弧线（向…）飞去 the next pitch tailed in on me at the last second 紧接着的横传球在最后一秒向我飞来。 Example sentencesExamples - To be fair to Carlow a number of good shots tailed out side and they were also missing two key players.
- Carlow had one last chance of a leveller when Richard Sinnott had a shot at goal from 40 metres but the ball tailed to the left.
- He also is following through better, which keeps his throws from tailing to the right or sailing high.
- Humphreys' conversion tailed to the left, with Ulster 8-6 in front at the break.
- The ball started for the left-hand upper corner before tailing back across the goal.
- However, with the wind at his back, Bart Daly cruelly missed the forty-five and his side's last chance tailed to the right and wide.
3Remove the stalks or ends of (fruit or vegetables) in preparation for cooking. Example sentencesExamples - Top and tail the green beans and cook them in salted boiling water for 3-4 minutes till tender, then drain them and rinse under cold, running water.
- Top and tail the green beans, peel the baby onions or cut the spring onion into 2.5cm pieces.
- I came up through a very strict regime of activities that I had to do to earn my pocket money, such as mowing lawns, picking fruit, feeding the hens, podding peas, top and tailing gooseberries, and collecting pine cones.
- Top and tail the green beans, then cook in boiling salted water until very tender.
4Pull on the end of (a rope) after it has been wrapped round the drum of a winch a few times, in order to prevent slipping when the winch rotates. 拉紧（绞索） Example sentencesExamples - While someone pulled the rope down the mast, which came through some jammers, another crew tailed the rope around the winch.
5archaic Join (one thing) to another. 〈古〉连接 Example sentencesExamples - Each new row of houses tailed on its drains to those of its neighbours, without any inquiry being made as to whether they were on the same level or not.
6rare Provide with a tail. 〈罕〉给…加上尾巴 her calligraphy was topped by banners of black ink and tailed like the haunches of fabulous beasts 她的字体头部像迎风飘扬的黑色旗帜，尾部如传说中野兽那遒劲有力的腰腿。 Example sentencesExamples - Her calligraphy was topped by banners of black ink and tailed like the haunches of fabulous beasts.
她的字体头部像迎风飘扬的黑色旗帜，尾部如传说中野兽那遒劲有力的腰腿。
Phrasesinformal Rush around ineffectually. 〈非正式〉无谓瞎忙 from continually chasing my tail and being late for everything, punctuality became second nature Example sentencesExamples - I don't have time to keep chasing my tail out here.
- Friday was one of those days when a candidate chases his tail.
- I was kind of like chasing my tail and trying to do the right thing, and was a little bit stupid.
- But as you chase your own tail down a maze of electronic alleyways, you sometimes wonder where it's all going to end.
- A. I do not think that you will be chasing your tail forever.
- I want to meet a nice girl and settle down - sometimes I feel like I'm just chasing my tail.
- How many times have you said, or heard people say ‘I just don't seem to have the time ’, or ‘I chase my tail from morning till night’.
- I feel I'm achieving something, not chasing my tail all the time.
- Life seems a little hectic of late, though I'm not sure why, and I feel as though I have been chasing my own tail the last few days.
- Boy meets girl, fate intervenes, boy makes a pig's ear of it, and spends the rest of the film chasing his tail in a vain effort to recapture the fair maiden's heart.
Following someone closely. 紧跟，跟踪 a police car stayed on his tail for half a mile 一辆警车在他后面跟踪了半英里。 Example sentencesExamples - Two burglars were today behind bars after a passing motorist tracked them through the streets of York and put police on their tail, the city's crown court heard.
- On his tail is FBI agent Carl Hanratty and his team of oafs.
- Let's say you're about to get fired or you've just killed a man and the police are on your tail.
- He ran after the group, staying on their tail as they headed into High Woods Country Park.
- He ducked and dodged around the buildings, trying to lose his pursuers but they managed to stay on his tail.
- That would explain all ten of the police cars on our tail, plus a couple of vans.
- The police stayed on his tail for four miles, until he pulled over once more.
- She swerved between buildings, statues, and anything that might make them lose her, but they stayed on her tail.
- Letting her bike swerve, she halted a few inches from the track railing and stayed on his tail.
- Drug dealers who plague Swindon's streets are today warned that police are on their tail.
Synonyms close behind someone, following someone closely, on someone's heels, hard on someone's heels, tailing someone
the tail of one's eye 〈旧〉眼角 dated The outer corner of one's eye. 〈旧〉眼角 he glanced at her through the tail of his eye Example sentencesExamples - And when something - a movement in the tail of my eye, a feeling - made me spin, I saw a semicircle of Rris watching me through the mist.
- I caught the movement in the tail of my eye.
- I looked at him from the tail of my eye, and thought to speak once more.
- He watched Jimmy scowl and at the same time with the tail of his eye, he saw Marie's face lighting up.
- He is slightly deaf but the movement from my horse and the crowd behind me catches the tail of his eye.
The less important or subsidiary factor, person, or thing dominates a situation; the usual roles are reversed. 尾巴摇狗（处于从属地位的人或事物控制局势）；本末倒置 the financing system is becoming the tail that wags the dog 真是尾巴摇狗：金融系统反而逐渐地在控制一切了。 Example sentencesExamples - But he says that the conclusion as to whether the tail wags the dog or the reverse may be less straightforward.
- When ‘the truth’ becomes irrelevant, and perception is all that matters, then the tail wags the dog, and (as you know) that ain't quite right.
- The goal of developing the economy has yielded to the states looking to simply alleviate their budget concerns; the tail wags the dog.
- What are some of the most common ways in which the tail wags the dog in financial aid?
- How frightening it is when the tail wags the dog.
- He must have gained a profound understanding of that old saw ‘when the tail wags the dog’ in his role as program manager for the project.
- Borges talks about not being able to tell whether the tail wags the dog or the dog wags the tail in his own writing of poetry and stories.
- Even asking whether The Superstar Effect or TLT will win in a fight is like asking whether the dog wags the tail or the tail wags the dog.
- But, they persist, peddling garbage, contradicting themselves in public (as in the example I posted), asserting the illogical (e.g. that the tail wags the dog) without evidentiary support from real sources, etc.
- This tail wags the dog, dominates university life for students and staff.
with one's tail between one's legs informal In a state of dejection or humiliation. 〈非正式〉夹着尾巴；灰溜溜地 we took Lily in when she came back from London with her tail between her legs Example sentencesExamples - Proponents of this philosophy tend to ignore the fact that for every successful convert in the fields of play or coaching, there have been nine who scuttled back to rugby league with their tail between their legs.
- I got my bill and left a hefty tip, leaving with my tail between my legs.
- You walked away from Korea with your tail between your legs.
- I made a bunch of money and lost it, and then came back to New York City with my tail between my legs, essentially.
- I can walk away from here with my head held high - I am certainly not going away with my tail between my legs.
- The last meeting I had with Sony I was sent off with my tail between my legs as if I was doing a very stupid thing with the material on this album.
- I will not retreat to Canada with my tail between my legs.
- When I left, I left publicly and not with my tail between my legs.
- Depressed beyond belief I left with my tail between my legs.
- At worst they would be stripped of their titles and prize money, banned from future competitions, and sent home with their tail between their legs.
informal In a confident or cheerful mood. 〈非正式〉趾高气扬地 the West Indies team with their tails up can be awesome Example sentencesExamples - But an hour later and it was the South Africans whose tails were up as they picked up three wickets for just two runs in 19 balls.
- The English bowlers looked to have their tails up, as though they'd had a moment of revelation.
- England now had their tails up, and back into the attack came Flintoff, whose tight line from around the wicket had accounted for Adam Gilchrist in the first innings.
- Every ball was potentially lethal and the West Indian team had their tails well and truly up.
- In such a situation, the fielding side has its tail up and there is added pressure on the batting team.
- The bowlers' tails were up, but another downpour washed out their hopes.
- The home side's tails were really up now and superb inter-linking play saw Standeven score twice on the bounce.
Phrasal Verbs(of traffic) become congested and form a tailback. 〈英〉（车辆）堵塞排成长队，向后延伸 traffic tailed back fourteen miles after a chemical spillage Example sentencesExamples - The accident closed one lane of the westbound carriageway, which led to inevitable delays with traffic tailing back to junction two of the M27.
- The smash caused traffic chaos on a busy Saturday afternoon, with shoppers travelling to the nearby Lakeside shopping centre facing long delays with traffic tailing back along the M25 to the A127 junction.
- One lane of the eastbound carriageway was closed while firefighters tackled the blaze, and traffic tailed back on to the nearby A19 Fulford Road.
- However, the traffic problems which hit the first day, when vehicles tailed back seven miles along the A64 to Tadcaster, were not repeated yesterday.
- Traffic was tailed back to Portlaoise on Friday evening, at the height of the rush hour, after a two-car pile up at the junction.
- Traffic tailed back along a main route into York after a huge crane got stuck at a busy junction today.
- Queues rapidly built up in Station Road and Leeman Road, and traffic tailed back across Lendal Bridge after the crash, which took place at about 3.30 pm yesterday.
- I waited for several minutes in Woodlands Grove to see if there was any sign of traffic tailing back from the Stockton Lane or Malton Road junction.
- Motorists faced delays of over an hour with traffic tailing back as far as junction 34 at Lancaster.
- In the last march we stopped the traffic for a minute and it tailed back for a mile to Trowbridge Road.
- By 9am problems hit Hadleigh and traffic tailed back along the A127 to Southend as motorists tried to get off the A13.
- Over 10,000 visitors from Chonburi and neighboring provinces flocked to the zoo, causing a headache for traffic police as the traffic tailed back.
- Police attending a separate incident nearby arrived on the scene within minutes, and busy rush-hour traffic was soon tailing back as far back as Monks Cross.
- The three-month trial is due to end later this month and has been blamed for the dramatic rise in traffic along Roehampton Lane, which can see cars tail back along the route for several miles during rush hour.
- Within half an hour traffic tailed back 10 miles as far back as the West Yorkshire border.
- Cameras showed that during the day traffic was tailing back to the A35 Redbridge flyover and several hundred metres along the M271.
- Traffic can tail back as far as the Shrimp roundabout in Morecambe while in Lancaster it can even reach the Pointer roundabout.
- Morning and evening traffic has tailed back from the roundabout since the lights were switched in a three week experiment to try to improve traffic flow.
- When I returned for my car, it was difficult to get onto the A19 again because traffic tailed back from the ring road roundabout.
Synonyms become congested, form a tailback, jam
tail something in (or into) Insert the end of a beam, stone, or brick into (a wall). 把（梁、石头、砖的端头）嵌入（墙内） Example sentencesExamples - When the platform consists of two or more stones, the first of them is laid on the last step that is set, and one end tailed in and wedged into the wall.
Gradually diminish in amount, strength, or intensity. （数量、力量、强度）逐渐减弱 the economic boom was beginning to tail off 经济迅猛发展的势头正在逐渐减弱。 Example sentencesExamples - But if the upper speed limit tails off more gradually, then other factors are more likely responsible.
- Police today confirmed that the number of calls has tailed off considerably over the weekend.
- Then the wind shifted to the west, the rain tailed off and the layers of cloud above diminished.
- I think my blog has developed into a bit of both - and this has made me realise that the passionate views I expressed at the beginning have begun to tail off.
- Gold is dropping and redemptions from retirement accounts have tailed off.
- What was very interesting was that action had been tailing off until Peter tried a dead trout as bait.
- I'm willing to concede that a few of the dozen tunes might be rewrites of songs I have heard before, and the songcraft audibly tails off in the final few tracks.
- Typical of diaries - you start all keen then it tails off!
- We tail off weakly at the end, not knowing what to do next.
- However, with sales beginning to tail off and that once-fresh styling beginning to age, it was time to bring it into corporate line.
- ‘Don't bother,’ I said with my voice tailing off.
- A worrying question for the city's fathers and economic development experts is - what happens if one of the city's biggest sources of employment growth tails off?
- The discussion gradually tails off as the wiki entry now represents the shared knowledge of the community represented by the discussion participants.
- It could be worth putting your property on the market sooner rather than later, in case demand does tail off in the short term and the market weakens over the coming months.
- I used Avant for a few weeks, but my usage gradually tailed off.
- For normal papers, the rate of citation peaks in the second to fourth years after publication and gradually tails off thereafter.
- After the back injury in 1989, Nava's attendance started to tail off.
- Initially people joined, and then, over the months of 1993, the numbers of people signing up tailed off and dropped.
- He taught himself through books, but his reading tailed off a bit because of his gardening.
- His voice tails off, his attention clearly drawn to the television blaring out the lunchtime news in the background.
Synonyms fade, wane, ebb, dwindle, decrease, lessen, get less, diminish, decline, subside, abate, drop off, drop away, fall away, peter out, taper off
OriginOld English tæg(e)l, from a Germanic base meaning 'hair, hairy tail'; related to Middle Low German tagel 'twisted whip, rope's end'. The early sense of the verb (early 16th century) was 'fasten to the back of something'. The base of the Old English word tail meant ‘hair’ or ‘hairy tail’. The opposite side of a coin to heads has been tails since the 1680s or thereabouts—it is so called because it is the ‘reverse’ or ‘rear’ of the main or front side. A dog's tail is a good indicator of its mood, and this has given us various expressions. Someone who appears ashamed or dejected has been described since the Middle Ages as having their tail between their legs. Alternatively, someone with their tail up is in a confident or cheerful mood. Sometimes the usual roles in an organization are reversed, and a less important part dictates what is going to happen. When that occurs, someone may comment that the tail is wagging the dog. As a verb (early 16th century) the original sense was ‘fasten to the back of something’, with the meaning ‘follow closely’ developing from this at the beginning of the 20th century.
Rhymesail, ale, assail, avail, bail, bale, bewail, brail, Braille, chain mail, countervail, curtail, dale, downscale, drail, dwale, entail, exhale, fail, faille, flail, frail, Gael, Gail, gale, Grail, grisaille, hail, hale, impale, jail, kale, mail, male, webmail, nonpareil, outsail, pail, pale, quail, rail, sail, sale, sangrail, scale, shale, snail, stale, swale, tale, they'll, trail, upscale, vail, vale, veil, surveil, wail, wale, whale, Yale noun teɪlteɪl mass nounLaw historical Limitation of ownership, especially of an estate or title limited to a person and their direct descendants. 〔律〕〈主史〉限制继承权 the land was held in tail general 这片土地是不分性别限嗣继承的。参见FEE TAIL。 See also fee tail Example sentencesExamples - The Legislature, when giving to lands held in tail general the descendible quality of estates in fee, treats them as lands capable of being devised..
OriginMiddle English (denoting a tallage): from Old French taille 'notch, tax', from taillier 'to cut', based on Latin talea 'twig, cutting'. nountālteɪl 1The hindmost part of an animal, especially when prolonged beyond the rest of the body, such as the flexible extension of the backbone in a vertebrate, the feathers at the hind end of a bird, or a terminal appendage in an insect. 尾巴 Example sentencesExamples - I followed, trying repeatedly to get a good look, but they never allowed me more than a glimpse of their tails as they disappeared beyond the next bend.
- The fossil turned out to be a composite of the body of a bird with the tail of a dinosaur.
- It's also possible that an Apatosaurus tail had a highly flexible extension, equivalent to a bullwhip's popper.
- Their back and wing coverts are heavily barred with black, as are their rust-brown tails which terminate with a narrow white band.
- As part of the preening process, the birds rub a natural oil, which is secreted from a gland at the bottom of their tails, over their feathers.
- I measured body length from snout to base of the tail for all animals captured since 1988.
- Lastly, all chordates have a post-anal tail, or extension of the notochord and nerve cord past the anus.
- During the acupuncture stimulation, animals were kept in plastic holders with their tails and hind legs protruding out.
- He looked to the brown dog, who immediately began wagging her tail.
- The tail, like the rest of the body, had no internal skeleton and was reinforced only by lines of scales.
- Each is named by some consistent feature of the tail, or the body, or sometimes both.
- Hoey demonstrated, using a gliding model of a raven, that the tail of such a bird may be used to function in this manner.
- He then uses this to explain why there are no post-anal fins in fish: the tail is itself an appendage.
- When not resting or feeding, they can move quickly, hopping on their hind legs with their tail held out stiffly behind.
- During his courtship display, the male puffs up his body and fans his tail.
- Most breeders use the technique known as ‘banding’, in which a ligature is placed over the end of a puppy's tail within four days of birth.
- Its tail and flight feathers are black, and its back and head are dark brown.
- North American river otters are semi-aquatic mammals, with long, streamlined bodies, thick tapered tails, and short legs.
- These tiny little birds, with short tails and sharply pointed bills, include only three species.
- Typical examples of sexually selected traits are the exaggerated long male tails of many birds.
Synonyms hindmost part, back end, appendage 2A thing resembling an animal's tail in its shape or position, typically something extending downward or outward at the end of something. 尾状物 the trailed tail of a capital Q 大写字母Q拖出来的尾巴。 the cars were head to tail 汽车首尾相接。 Example sentencesExamples - A number of Matisse's kite tails bear a shape that is ubiquitous in her oeuvre.
- Shaped like a kite, trailing its tail along the sea, Myanmar is the largest country on the Southeast Asian mainland.
- It's a big circle with a little tail… it looks like the product of a drunken sculptor.
- It retains the split tail to allow independent movement of the two halves of the wide saddle platform as the legs swing up and down.
- Next minute there are balloons with brightly coloured tails floating at ceiling level above Elvis' head.
- 2.1 The rear part of an airplane, with the horizontal stabilizer and rudder.
（飞机）尾部 Example sentencesExamples - The biplane looked much like a Wright Flyer except it had only one propeller and a cross-shaped tail.
- Before departing they are instructed to try and photograph identification numbers or aircraft tails, if possible, and bring back the evidence.
- However, the ships had H-beams, which allowed the tails of aircraft to be suspended over the side with the main gear remaining on the deck.
- Unprotected at the tail of the aircraft they led precarious lives.
- The tail unit comprises all-moving horizontal tail surfaces and a single-fin vertical tail fitted with a rudder.
- The seam of the canopy and the weapon bay doors are sawtoothed and the vertical tails are canted at an angle.
- The canopy disintegrated and the wire shaved the top off AIRCDRE Pietsch's helmet before snapping on the tail of the aircraft.
- A glassed-in tail gunner compartment is to the rear of the tail.
- Use the rudder to keep the tail right behind the nose, independent of what you're doing with the ailerons.
- Born with a straight tail and fastback fuselage, the first 172s were little more than 170s with a nosewheel.
- Here are some tips, facts and rules-of-thumb for making safe arrivals and departures with the wind at your tail.
- When turning, watch the track of the tail of the aircraft, as well.
- The outcry was such that the airline relented, the familiar red, white and blue made its way back onto the plane tails and planeloads of passengers breathed a sigh of relief.
- I twisted around in my seat and looked at the tail of the aircraft - it was engulfed in flames.
- Engines, tails, landing gear, bomb-bay doors, wing flaps, and dozens of skin panels are removed.
- The rudder includes a separate yaw damper and the low tail is designed for post-stall stability.
- The force caused the blades to flap low enough to chop off the tail of the aircraft.
- At Fort Bliss, friends and family gathered under the tail of the plane with open arms as the soldiers disembarked.
- Another example where this non-contact testing comes in handy is in testing elevator structures in aircraft tails.
- The four-winged fruit fly is severely handicapped - like a small plane with extra wings dangling from its tail.
- 2.2 The lower or hanging part of a garment, especially the back of a shirt or coat.
（尤指衬衫或外套背部的）下摆 Example sentencesExamples - Even wild and childish Kyle was poised behind his keyboard, black buttoned shirt, tails hanging unmannered over his casual blue jeans.
- Desmond scoffed, and then flipping up the tail of his coat, turned to sit down on the chair beside Isabella's.
- Just lick 'em and wipe with the tail of your shirt - you can taste when the glass is clean and when it's gritty.
- I cleaned it with the tail of my shirt, not exactly spotless, but passable.
- I could not grab hold of the tail of his shirt, tugging him toward me as I would have if he were still a small boy running heedless of danger into a busy street.
- Surely the best place for such tags would be on the tail of the shirt or some other low contact area.
- I sighed, and a cold breeze swept past me, lifting the tail of my coat.
- Further into my day a man in a suit drove past on a bike, suit tails and tie blowing in the wind.
- The tail of his shirt and parts of his pants and underpants were burned.
- Reaching for the tail of his shirt, Dori pulled it up slightly to inspect his side.
- Button-ups with tails get tucked with a belt, anything else just rides in the wind.
- One of the classics is petticoat tails, which are shaped in a segmented round.
- I'm crouching, and I'm sure the tail of my coat is getting soaked.
- Nicanor wore a multicolored striped oxford shirt with the tails tied at his waist.
- He clearly could think of nothing else to say, so he took off his glasses and began polishing them on the tail of his shirt, as was his habit whenever he was thinking.
- While she had been reading, he had unbuttoned the dark green cotton shirt and untucked the tails from his jeans.
- Beginning at the tail, stitch the body long edge, leaving the upper edge open.
- A sudden wind swept up the tail of my coat, and flocks of bugs hung low in the air, predicting rain.
- A soft wind rustled the tails of his coat.
- Construction details are rounded out with single needle tailoring, hemmed sleeves and a vented tail.
- 2.3tailsinformal A tailcoat; a man's formal evening suit with such a coat.
〈非正式〉燕尾服；（男子的）晚礼服 the men looked debonair in white tie and tails 男士们穿着燕尾服系着白领带看上去显得温文尔雅。 Example sentencesExamples - A drunk is a drunk whether in cloth cap with whippet or in top hat and tails.
- A tuxedo is required, and can include more formal tuxedos, such as evening tails.
- Michael, 35, has opted for top hat and tails coupled with a salmon pink shirt and ties to match.
- It is shown alongside DiCaprio's dress coat with tails.
- Dettori accompanied Sheikh Mohammed to the races at Royal Ascot wearing a top hat, tails, and a cast on his broken right ankle.
- He was in top hat, white tie and tails - attire with which a cane is optional.
- He didn't go in his top hat and tails as it was relaxed dress and he was in a suit.
- The couple have turned their hobby into a business, and the driving proves a welcome change for Mr Bower - a barrister in Manchester, who swops his legal attire for coat and tails at the weekend.
- Dressed in top hat and tails, they toasted him with champagne and chanted ‘No Justice?’
- He came faultlessly dressed in the formal white tie and tails, nor did he regale us with wise-cracking anecdotes about the music or some of his funny experiences in the past.
- The theatrical element of the show though never let up with various song and dance set pieces featuring trapeze artists, skateboarders, a tap dancer in top hat and tails, and even a dancing bagpiper.
- The members of the Royal Ascot Racing Club do not consider themselves a syndicate so much as a group of friends, and judging by the top hats and tails, the club has more than its fair share of the well-heeled.
- Racegoers decked out in top hat and tails get ready for next month's Royal Ascot meeting at York Races yesterday.
- But showing at least a residue of rebellion, Jagger shunned the traditional top hat and tails, opting for a long black leather coat, purple scarf and sports shoes.
- But Caron, like Ginger Rogers and Cyd Charisse before her, was dancing her way into the hearts of millions years before these young pretenders ever put on top hat and tails.
- I once attended a ‘top hat and tails’ wedding to which an elderly uncle had been invited.
- The men would adorn themselves in top hat and tails, while the women MPs would deck themselves in fancy dresses and hats.
- The one definite test for a new gentleman in Australia was that he had to be wealthy and a wealthy man could look like a gentleman once he had a large house and a carriage and dressed like a gentleman with top hat and tails.
- He rejects the convention of wearing white tie and tails, preferring to conduct in a loose, floppy shirt that better suits his loose, floppy style.
- Fred was top hat, white tie and tails, Gene was a baseball cap, T-shirt and jeans.
- 2.4 The luminous trail of particles following a comet.
彗尾 Example sentencesExamples - The gases, expelled as jets, drive out debris that had been embedded in the ice, endowing comets with their flamboyant tails.
- The stunning apparition of a comet's tail was long regarded as a portent of doom and disaster, and in a way this is not too far from the mark.
- Originally classified as an asteroid, Chiron now appears to be icy - with a tail like a comet.
- In 1985, it was sent to L2, and then through the tail of the Giacobini-Zinner comet.
- Kitt Peak observations also identified a bright tail extending from the galaxy.
- This stream of lost material is what gives rise to the characteristic comet tail.
- Thanks to pick-up ion measurements, Ulysses can make observations of comet tails at large distances from the Sun.
- It was Apian who first drew the tails of comets pointing away from the sun and not streaming out behind them.
- It is this solar wind - seen only in comet tails - that carries storms from the Sun to Earth.
- The word ‘comet’ actually comes from a Greek word meaning ‘hairy star’ because of the tails that comets possess.
- Solar wind is responsible for the direction of a comet's tail, which always points away from the Sun.
- When Earth runs into an old comet tail we see a meteor shower.
- They will watch the material expelled from the comet get blown into the comet's tail.
- The tail is pushed outwards from the Sun by the solar wind and radiation pressure, and so the popular conception that a comet's tail streams away behind it is wrong.
- The comet's tail is in fact made of dust grains and frozen gases from the comet's surface that vaporise because of the Sun's heat.
- The first indication that the Sun might be emitting a ‘wind’ came in the seventeenth century from observations of comet tails.
- The refrigerator-sized satellite will collect dust particles from the tail of comet Wild 2 as the two pass each other on Friday morning.
- In our own solar system, the solar wind is responsible for shaping comets' tails and producing the Aurorae Borealis on Earth.
- I leaned on the gate and saw the great wisps of clouds in the sky like comets' tails.
- They noted that comets had two tails - one of dust, one of ions - and only the dust tail could be explained by the pressure of sunlight pushing against the comet.
- 2.5 The lower end of a pool or stream.
（水池的）浅水端；（河流的）下游 Example sentencesExamples - On reaching the tail of the Pool just below the power lines I hooked a fish, which I soon realised, was substantial.
- As I fished through the tail of the pool I allowed the fly to swing into the slow shallow water close to my bank.
- I tied on the sinker with its attendant fly and tossed the whole lot downstream into the rapids at the pool tail.
- The light tackle had no chance of holding such a monster as it ran out of the tail of the pool, taking all of the line and backing with it, which snapped at the drum.
- We're at the tail of a big, deep pool, just where the water is beginning to speed up before cascading down into rapids.
- When we arrived I could see at the tail of the pool a super looking slack on the left hand bank which literally screamed chub.
- The large namesake rock was lodged in midstream, forming the tail of the pool.
- 2.6 The exposed end of a slate or tile in a roof.
（屋瓦的）叠余外露部分 Example sentencesExamples - Nail a 1 x 6 facia board to seal and trim the end grain of the rafter tails.
- If the walls are crooked, the rafter tails will also be crooked.
- Try to correct this problem; but if you are unable to, pop a chalk line across the rafter tails and trim them with your saw before attaching the sheathing.
3The end of a long train or line of people or vehicles. （火车的）末节车厢；（人或车辆排成的长队的）尾端 an armored truck at the tail of the convoy 位于护运车队最后的餐车。 Example sentencesExamples - If menaced with an attack, the divisions at the head and tail of the convoy will keep their positions and repel the enemy by their fire should he attack.
- I lingered at the very tail of the crowd, trying to stay in the growing neutral zone between the cops and the rioters.
- 3.1in singular The final, more distant, or weaker part of something.
结尾；末梢 the forecast says we're in for the tail of a hurricane 天气预报说飓风的尾部正向我们迫近。 Example sentencesExamples - The sting of this title is in its tail: traditionally we have had dictionaries of Hellenic or Egyptian or Roman mythologies.
- Tom found himself in familiar company at the back of the grid as Turkington and Thompson had also failed to finish the second race and the three of them lined up at the tail of the field.
- The pancreatic head lies cephalad to and well to the right of the umbilicus, and the tail of the pancreas extends to the spleen.
- They accumulate around the equator of Earth in the radiation belts and the tail of the magnetosphere in a dense region known as the plasma sheet.
- When stretched, the filament becomes aligned with the flow of the soap film and very little disturbance, called streets, was observed at the tail of the thread.
- We got hit by the tails of the summer hurricanes and were switching between day and night shoots a lot.
Synonyms rear, end, back, extremity, conclusion close, end, conclusion, termination, tail end
4informal A person secretly following another to observe their movements. 〈非正式〉盯梢人 Example sentencesExamples - Then again Jack had a reason to drive evasively; even if he hadn't detected a tail, which was likely.
- In a scene right out of The Sopranos, a tail followed a BFI truck out of the Lincoln Tunnel one evening and nearly ran it off the road in New Jersey.
Synonyms detective, investigator, private investigator, shadow 5North American informal A person's buttocks. 〈非正式，主北美〉屁股 fireworks followed when the coach kicked Ryan in his tail Example sentencesExamples - An honest man would have packed his bags, hopped in his truck, and hauled tail out of that place a long time ago.
Synonyms backside, behind, seat, rump, rear, rear end buttocks, backside, behind, seat, rump, rear, rear end - 5.1vulgar slang A woman's genitals.
〈粗俚〉女性生殖器 - 5.2 Women collectively regarded as a means of sexual gratification.
〈非正式〉 总称（作为满足男人性欲的工具的）女人 I was getting worried that both of us would be chasing tail and getting into trouble for the rest of our lives
6tailsThe reverse side of a coin (used when tossing a coin). Example sentencesExamples - I toss opportunities like coins, and call tails when I've already caught a glimpse of the queen's crown.
- The outcome, however, had no bearing on the probability of the coin landing tails before it was flipped.
- A mick is a throw of two tails; the tails side of a coin, or, the heads side of a coin.
- It has remained the past practice with Indian leaders to solve their own problems first and then leaving the problems of others unsolved which in other words means that heads we win and tails you lose.
- Heads, David Ortiz lifts one over the Monster in the ninth inning; tails it's Albert Pujols.
- This is ‘heads we win - tails you lose’ politics from the EU.
- But that's what he has claimed, and that's what he's done, but every time the coin comes up tails - no war.
- It had to decide: if this coin had to come down heads or tails, on what side should it fall?
- I've flipped a coin and it's tails, so I'm inviting Louise along tomorrow.
- The coin landed tails, the outback was their destination and the pair set off in a T model Ford, nicknamed Henrietta.
- Each coin has one side smoothed down flat and in theory this should be the tails side of the coin since it is illegal to deface an image of the monarch in England.
verbtālteɪl [with object]1informal Follow and observe (someone) closely, especially in secret. 〈非正式〉偷偷跟踪，盯…的梢 a flock of paparazzi had tailed them all over Paris Example sentencesExamples - Turkish and British police are thought to be investigating the possibility that he was tailed into the complex by the bomber.
- In fact, he called his brother and said I don't think I can make it to golf, you go ahead because I have these people tailing me.
- The little car next to the bus was being driven by KGB agents who were tailing him at the time.
- The Mando-pop king is pretty much a nobody in the eyes of the European media, but the big-headed hot shot vented his frustration on members of the Taiwanese paparazzi who had been tailing him.
- Online shopping is hot this year with famous folk, since schlepping to FAO Schwartz with an entourage and a legion of paparazzi tailing you tends to negate the warm, holiday glow!
- Ilyich growled, but knew that he was outmatched for the time being, so with great reluctance, he bolted out of the room as fast as possible, with Jerwon and Greg tailing him closely.
- Mysterious men tailed him, and rebel groups and tribal fighters at first tried to pressure him into using the radio to recruit among the young men and women listening to his broadcasts.
- She was, for example, obsessed with death squads tailing her around New York, though for what purpose was never clear.
- Richard Tomlinson is racing down the autostrada just outside Rimini with two Italian secret service men tailing him.
- We were tailed up the stairs by more than one guide-cum-secret agent, who first hovered and then circled repeatedly.
- He says he even lectured the FBI agents assigned to tail him, telling them to go back to school and study computers or something with a real future because their job was no good.
- These tested the agents' ability in making contact with a ‘cut out’ (intermediate); tailing someone in a city; losing someone who was following him or her.
- The secret police, the AVO, began to tail Douglas wherever he went.
- In 1999, she was tailed by a television crew making Edinburgh or Bust.
- Police went to intervene but Kitchen drove off in his car and refused to stop, despite police tailing him.
- He was tailed from a distance and followed on to a bus.
- Every night, Chettier and other observers walk the streets, tail police officers, and document their activities.
- In addition, ransom payments should not be filmed and media vehicles should not surreptitiously tail police cars to avoid blowing their cover, he added.
- They are also useful to have around if you are tailing someone and want to remain unnoticed.
- When Casey played his first Nike tournament after the 1998 ruling there were some 150 media tailing him.
- 1.1no object, with adverbial of direction Follow.
跟随 they went to their favorite cafe—Bill and Sally tailed along 他们去了他们最喜欢的咖啡馆——欧文和萨莉也跟着去了。 Example sentencesExamples - Please tell me how he is better, given that he's lost two elections, and probably would have tailed after the president during the invasion.
- The CPP received 1.08 percent of the total votes in the National Assembly elections, tailing behind the alliance led by political science professor Chang Ya-chung.
- Announcements were being made in German, French and English for people to please move to the back of the square because the whole town was being jammed up with protesters tailing back from the square.
- The decking market in Australia is huge, obviously tends to follow and tail along with the housing market in Australia.
- Instantly, an image materialized, displaying three massive war ships tailing after the explorers in the wake of their engine disturbances.
- Max raced forward, Franny tailing close behind him, and Nanny followed the two of them.
- A web cam with its inactive little red light bulb sat next to the Notebook, its cord tailing out from its back.
- Gorden led the charge with 82 yards on five carries, while Griffen tailed with 63 yards on ten carries.
- Queues tail back across arid fields, waiting their turn for this sophisticated drug which could transform the region - yet not even the water with which to take it can be provided, and everyone must bring a sip of their own.
- Not enough was done, and at times it felt our material was tailing after Royal Mail's rather than defining our own agenda.
- When he's on a job on the weekend, she's usually right beside her dad, tailing along.
- To tail them, the private detective agency must have at least two different vehicles, so that they won't be discovered when tailing after one target.
- Yuki pranced up the path to the new Meshan's domain with Philonius tailing along behind her.
- Another good reason to oppose this line of explanation is that it tails with the miserable excuses being offered up by Lynndie England.
- The remaining day's competition was fierce, with the Gecko's taking top spot, squeaking by the second place slithering Cobras, as the Tigers tailed behind in third place.
- The problem was that he failed to clearly oppose the U.S. led invasion - tailing behind anything that the president said on the issue.
- Behind us my guards and H'risnth's entourage tailed along, Kh'hitch engaged in a subdued exchange with the ambassador.
Synonyms follow, shadow, stalk, trail, track, hunt, hound, dog, trace, pursue, chase, give chase to, run after, keep under surveillance
2North American no object, with adverbial of direction (of an object in flight) drift or curve in a particular direction. 〈北美〉（飞行物体）（朝…）漂移，成弧线（向…）飞去 the next pitch tailed in on me at the last second 紧接着的横传球在最后一秒向我飞来。 Example sentencesExamples - He also is following through better, which keeps his throws from tailing to the right or sailing high.
- However, with the wind at his back, Bart Daly cruelly missed the forty-five and his side's last chance tailed to the right and wide.
- Humphreys' conversion tailed to the left, with Ulster 8-6 in front at the break.
- To be fair to Carlow a number of good shots tailed out side and they were also missing two key players.
- The ball started for the left-hand upper corner before tailing back across the goal.
- Carlow had one last chance of a leveller when Richard Sinnott had a shot at goal from 40 metres but the ball tailed to the left.
3archaic Join (one thing) to another. 〈古〉连接 each new row of houses tailed on its drains to those of its neighbors 每一排新房子里的排水管道都和其相邻房屋的排水管道相连接。 Example sentencesExamples - Each new row of houses tailed on its drains to those of its neighbours, without any inquiry being made as to whether they were on the same level or not.
4rare Provide with a tail. 〈罕〉给…加上尾巴 her calligraphy was topped by banners of black ink and tailed like the haunches of fabulous beasts 她的字体头部像迎风飘扬的黑色旗帜，尾部如传说中野兽那遒劲有力的腰腿。 Example sentencesExamples - Her calligraphy was topped by banners of black ink and tailed like the haunches of fabulous beasts.
她的字体头部像迎风飘扬的黑色旗帜，尾部如传说中野兽那遒劲有力的腰腿。
Phrasesinformal Rush around ineffectually. 〈非正式〉无谓瞎忙 Example sentencesExamples - A. I do not think that you will be chasing your tail forever.
- Friday was one of those days when a candidate chases his tail.
- Boy meets girl, fate intervenes, boy makes a pig's ear of it, and spends the rest of the film chasing his tail in a vain effort to recapture the fair maiden's heart.
- I was kind of like chasing my tail and trying to do the right thing, and was a little bit stupid.
- I want to meet a nice girl and settle down - sometimes I feel like I'm just chasing my tail.
- I feel I'm achieving something, not chasing my tail all the time.
- How many times have you said, or heard people say ‘I just don't seem to have the time ’, or ‘I chase my tail from morning till night’.
- Life seems a little hectic of late, though I'm not sure why, and I feel as though I have been chasing my own tail the last few days.
- But as you chase your own tail down a maze of electronic alleyways, you sometimes wonder where it's all going to end.
- I don't have time to keep chasing my tail out here.
Following someone closely. 紧跟，跟踪 a police car stayed on his tail for half a mile 一辆警车在他后面跟踪了半英里。 Example sentencesExamples - He ducked and dodged around the buildings, trying to lose his pursuers but they managed to stay on his tail.
- Drug dealers who plague Swindon's streets are today warned that police are on their tail.
- He ran after the group, staying on their tail as they headed into High Woods Country Park.
- The police stayed on his tail for four miles, until he pulled over once more.
- On his tail is FBI agent Carl Hanratty and his team of oafs.
- Let's say you're about to get fired or you've just killed a man and the police are on your tail.
- She swerved between buildings, statues, and anything that might make them lose her, but they stayed on her tail.
- Two burglars were today behind bars after a passing motorist tracked them through the streets of York and put police on their tail, the city's crown court heard.
- That would explain all ten of the police cars on our tail, plus a couple of vans.
- Letting her bike swerve, she halted a few inches from the track railing and stayed on his tail.
Synonyms close behind someone, following someone closely, on someone's heels, hard on someone's heels, tailing someone
The less important or subsidiary factor, person, or thing dominates a situation; the usual roles are reversed. 尾巴摇狗（处于从属地位的人或事物控制局势）；本末倒置 the financing system is becoming the tail that wags the dog 真是尾巴摇狗：金融系统反而逐渐地在控制一切了。 Example sentencesExamples - But he says that the conclusion as to whether the tail wags the dog or the reverse may be less straightforward.
- The goal of developing the economy has yielded to the states looking to simply alleviate their budget concerns; the tail wags the dog.
- Even asking whether The Superstar Effect or TLT will win in a fight is like asking whether the dog wags the tail or the tail wags the dog.
- What are some of the most common ways in which the tail wags the dog in financial aid?
- He must have gained a profound understanding of that old saw ‘when the tail wags the dog’ in his role as program manager for the project.
- When ‘the truth’ becomes irrelevant, and perception is all that matters, then the tail wags the dog, and (as you know) that ain't quite right.
- But, they persist, peddling garbage, contradicting themselves in public (as in the example I posted), asserting the illogical (e.g. that the tail wags the dog) without evidentiary support from real sources, etc.
- This tail wags the dog, dominates university life for students and staff.
- How frightening it is when the tail wags the dog.
- Borges talks about not being able to tell whether the tail wags the dog or the dog wags the tail in his own writing of poetry and stories.
with one's tail between one's legs informal In a state of dejection or humiliation. 〈非正式〉夹着尾巴；灰溜溜地 Example sentencesExamples - Depressed beyond belief I left with my tail between my legs.
- I will not retreat to Canada with my tail between my legs.
- I can walk away from here with my head held high - I am certainly not going away with my tail between my legs.
- You walked away from Korea with your tail between your legs.
- I made a bunch of money and lost it, and then came back to New York City with my tail between my legs, essentially.
- The last meeting I had with Sony I was sent off with my tail between my legs as if I was doing a very stupid thing with the material on this album.
- When I left, I left publicly and not with my tail between my legs.
- I got my bill and left a hefty tip, leaving with my tail between my legs.
- Proponents of this philosophy tend to ignore the fact that for every successful convert in the fields of play or coaching, there have been nine who scuttled back to rugby league with their tail between their legs.
- At worst they would be stripped of their titles and prize money, banned from future competitions, and sent home with their tail between their legs.
Phrasal Verbstail something in (or into) Insert the end of a beam, stone, or brick into (a wall). 把（梁、石头、砖的端头）嵌入（墙内） Example sentencesExamples - When the platform consists of two or more stones, the first of them is laid on the last step that is set, and one end tailed in and wedged into the wall.
Gradually diminish in amount, strength, or intensity. （数量、力量、强度）逐渐减弱 the economic boom was beginning to tail off 经济迅猛发展的势头正在逐渐减弱。 Example sentencesExamples - I think my blog has developed into a bit of both - and this has made me realise that the passionate views I expressed at the beginning have begun to tail off.
- Then the wind shifted to the west, the rain tailed off and the layers of cloud above diminished.
- Typical of diaries - you start all keen then it tails off!
- What was very interesting was that action had been tailing off until Peter tried a dead trout as bait.
- A worrying question for the city's fathers and economic development experts is - what happens if one of the city's biggest sources of employment growth tails off?
- Police today confirmed that the number of calls has tailed off considerably over the weekend.
- After the back injury in 1989, Nava's attendance started to tail off.
- We tail off weakly at the end, not knowing what to do next.
- I used Avant for a few weeks, but my usage gradually tailed off.
- The discussion gradually tails off as the wiki entry now represents the shared knowledge of the community represented by the discussion participants.
- It could be worth putting your property on the market sooner rather than later, in case demand does tail off in the short term and the market weakens over the coming months.
- Initially people joined, and then, over the months of 1993, the numbers of people signing up tailed off and dropped.
- His voice tails off, his attention clearly drawn to the television blaring out the lunchtime news in the background.
- He taught himself through books, but his reading tailed off a bit because of his gardening.
- For normal papers, the rate of citation peaks in the second to fourth years after publication and gradually tails off thereafter.
- I'm willing to concede that a few of the dozen tunes might be rewrites of songs I have heard before, and the songcraft audibly tails off in the final few tracks.
- ‘Don't bother,’ I said with my voice tailing off.
- However, with sales beginning to tail off and that once-fresh styling beginning to age, it was time to bring it into corporate line.
- But if the upper speed limit tails off more gradually, then other factors are more likely responsible.
- Gold is dropping and redemptions from retirement accounts have tailed off.
Synonyms fade, wane, ebb, dwindle, decrease, lessen, get less, diminish, decline, subside, abate, drop off, drop away, fall away, peter out, taper off
OriginOld English tæg(e)l, from a Germanic base meaning ‘hair, hairy tail’; related to Middle Low German tagel ‘twisted whip, rope's end’. The early sense of the verb (early 16th century) was ‘fasten to the back of something’. nountālteɪl Law historical Limitation of ownership, especially of an estate or title limited to a person and their heirs. 〔律〕〈主史〉限制继承权 the land was held in tail general 这片土地是不分性别限嗣继承的。参见FEE TAIL。 See also fee tail Example sentencesExamples - The Legislature, when giving to lands held in tail general the descendible quality of estates in fee, treats them as lands capable of being devised..
OriginMiddle English (denoting a tallage): from Old French taille ‘notch, tax’, from taillier ‘to cut’, based on Latin talea ‘twig, cutting’. |