A fork of Rural Dictionary
A dummy made of tar, which cannot be struck without getting oneself hopelessly stuck to it--from the story "Mr. Rabbit and Mr. Fox" by Joe Harris, as told by his fictional narrator, Uncle Remus.
Tar baby has become short hand for a situation better avoided than confronted.
The issue of immigration has become a tar baby for president Gearge W. Bush.
a situation almost impossible to get out of; a problem virtually unsolvable;
His political advisers told him to stay away from the controversy,
that it was a no-win cause, a “tar baby.”
A sticky mess. Something unable to get away from.Alternate: Similar to a Catch-22. Damned if you do and damned if you dont. A mistaken notion or misunderstanding that immediately produces indignation.
Talking about un-wed teen pregnancy is a real tar baby
Now used as an insult to black people, the tar baby was originally a jet black baby doll (becaue it was made out of tar) used to trap Br'er Rabbit Rabbit in an American folk tale.
Tar baby can also be a term used to describe a "sticky" situation.
It's not racist to call an actual tar baby a tar baby! That's like saying it's racist to call Ritz "crackers" or chocolate sandwich cookies "Oreos"!
Tar baby is a synonym for nigger, except that it is only used in bigoted manners, whereas nigger can be a sign of respect, if the speaker is also African American.
It comes from a children's story in which the dark skin and seeming ignorance (caused by a lack of schooling) of slaves were explained by the idea that black children were baptised in tar, which made them dark and dumb.
see nigger
Biff: Let's beat the sh*t out of that tar baby.
Tad: Shall we?
An african american baby, most likely very black.
Oh gosh it's a tar baby! Lock the car doors!
1) A black man. see coon, nigger, etc etc
2) A road cyclist because they can't ride anywhere but on the tar-seal without needing a different bike.
3) A booby trap: shaped like a baby but made of tar.
1)ship that tar baby back
2) Stupid tar babies on their pricey road-only bicycles
3) I'm stuck to this tar baby