tar baby

or tarbaby

noun

1. a situation, problem, or the like, that is almost impossible to solve or to break away from.

Word History and Origins

Origin of tar baby¹

After the tar doll used to trap Brer Rabbit in an Uncle Remus story (1881) of Joel Chandler Harris

Example Sentences

She read “Tar Baby,” “A Raisin in the Sun,” and books by Sista Souljah and Iceberg Slim but also Ayn Rand and even “Mein Kampf.”

From Los Angeles Times

In the tale of the tar baby, the tar captures those who touch it; if Br’er Rabbit is read as a Black American, a Black person is both captivated by the figure and captured in turn.

From New York Times

Sometimes, he is himself hoodwinked, as in the famous Tar Baby fable — which has antecedents in oral traditions from around the globe, including India and Africa — in which Br’er Rabbit’s pride gets the best of him.

From New York Times

Taken perhaps at its simplest reading, though, the tar baby, catching and trapping all who get too near, is a warning that no one involved in slavery can escape its horrors.

From New York Times

In Morrison's novel "Tar Baby," the protagonist is a model who's depicted as the "Copper Venus" in a magazine spread.

From Salon