chase your tail

Meanings

1. 1phraseidiominformalfigurative

   To spend effort and time on activity that produces no useful result, often because the task is badly organized.

   Grammar: The possessive matches the subject: she was chasing her tail, they were chasing their tails.

   Patterns

   • chase your tail trying to do something
   • spend the day chasing your tail

   I spent the whole morning chasing my tail because nobody told me which form to fill in.

   The team kept chasing their tails until a new manager set clear priorities.

   Without a plan you will just end up chasing your tail.

2. 2phraseidiom

   Literally, to turn in circles trying to catch the end of your own tail, as a dog or cat does.

   Grammar: Used of animals, with a literal meaning: the puppy chased its tail.

   Patterns

   • chase its tail

   The puppy spun around and around, chasing its tail.

   Our kitten likes to chase her tail in the hallway.

   The dog chased his tail until he got dizzy.

Word forms

Common combinations

end up chasing your tail

If the instructions keep changing, we will end up chasing our tails.

feel like you are chasing your tail

With three deadlines in one day, I feel like I am chasing my tail.

stop chasing your tail

We need to stop chasing our tails and decide who owns this project.

keep chasing your tail

The department keeps chasing its tail with endless meetings.

just chasing your tail

Fixing symptoms is just chasing your tail if you ignore the cause.

Synonyms and how they differ

go around in circles

This is very close in meaning but stresses repeated going over the same ground, while chase your tail stresses frantic, wasted effort.

spin your wheels

This American idiom stresses effort with no progress, but suggests being stuck rather than rushing about.

run in circles

This suggests disorganized rushing, and is a bit more informal and visual than chase your tail.

get nowhere

This only states the lack of result, without the picture of busy, pointless activity.

Opposites

Word family

tail noun

the flexible part at the back of an animal's body

chase verb

to run after something to catch it

tailspin noun

a situation of rapid decline or panic

Commonly confused: chase your tail or chase your own tail?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “chase your tail”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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