wag the dog (English, verb)
expansion: wag the dog (third-person singular simple present wags the dog, present participle wagging the dog, simple past and past participle wagged the dog)
Senses:
topics: government
politics
glosses: To divert negative political attention by use of a military operation.
tags: idiomatic
glosses: Used in a phrasal verb: the tail wags the dog: to control, as a minor part, a larger thing; to be the tail wagging the dog.
Forms:
form: wags the dog
tags: present
singular
third-person
form: wagging the dog
tags: participle
present
form: wagged the dog
tags: participle
past
form: wagged the dog
tags: past