📖 Meaning
The tail is too large to wag. Originally a metaphor for subordinates growing so powerful that superiors lose control over them. In modern usage, it describes an organization so bloated that it becomes unmanageable and unresponsive to command.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom comes from the Zuo Zhuan (《左传》), a classic Chinese history text, under the 11th year of Duke Zhao's reign (昭公十一年). The full passage reads: '末大必折，尾大不掉，君所知也' — meaning 'When branches grow too large, they will break; when the tail grows too large, it cannot be wagged — this Your Lordship already knows.' The speaker was warning a ruler about the dangers of allowing subordinate powers to grow unchecked.
💡 Example Usage
公司部门尾大不掉，总部决策难以执行到位。
The company's departments have become too unwieldy to manage, making it difficult for headquarters to enforce its decisions.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 尾大不掉
- Pinyin: wěi dà bù diào
- Literal Translation: tail, big, cannot, wag
- Category: Power
- Characters: 4