Meaning & use
chasing your tail
Last updated
Meanings
phraseidiominformalfigurative
Spending a lot of time and energy on something without making real progress or getting a result.
Grammar: Used as a verb phrase; the possessive changes with the subject: I'm chasing my tail, she's chasing her tail.
Patterns
- be chasing your tail
- spend the day chasing your tail
I've been chasing my tail all morning trying to fix this one problem.
We keep chasing our tails because nobody wants to make the final decision.
If you don't plan ahead, you'll just spend the week chasing your tail.
phraseidiomfigurative
Moving in circles in a pointless way, like a dog running after its own tail.
Grammar: Used literally for animals or people moving in circles; the possessive still changes: the puppy was chasing its tail.
Patterns
- be chasing its tail
- run around chasing your tail
The puppy was chasing its tail around the living room.
He ran around chasing his tail in the yard until he was dizzy.
Common combinations
- spend all day chasing your tail
- I spent all day chasing my tail and got nothing done.
- keep chasing your tail
- If we keep chasing our tails, we'll miss the deadline.
- like a dog chasing its tail
- The discussion went in circles, like a dog chasing its tail.
- chasing your tail on something
- We're chasing our tails on this report and need a new approach.
Synonyms and how they differ
- going in circles
- Similar idea, but it focuses on repeating the same points rather than on wasted effort.
- spinning your wheels
- Very close in meaning; it emphasizes that you are working hard but not moving forward.
- running around in circles
- Suggests busy, confused activity without progress; slightly more about physical or chaotic movement.
Opposites
Commonly confused: chasing your tail or chasing tail? chasing your tail or turning tail?
chasing your tail vs chasing tail
Without 'your', it is not the fixed idiom and sounds incomplete; the possessive is needed.
chasing your tail vs turning tail
This means running away or retreating, not working without progress.
Practice
After three hours of meetings with no decisions, we were just ______.
Choose one answer.
The idiom uses a possessive and the plural 'tails' when the subject is plural: 'chasing our tails.' 'Chasing our tail' is singular and does not match 'we.' 'Turning our tail' means retreating, and 'chasing tail' lacks the possessive.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “chasing your tail”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.