catch a Tartar (English, verb)
expansion: catch a Tartar (third-person singular simple present catches a Tartar, present participle catching a Tartar, simple past and past participle caught a Tartar)
Senses:
glosses: To discover someone is much stronger, much more dangerous, and/or much more violent than they appeared at first, especially after laying hands on them or (thieves' cant, obsolete) in a failed attempt to rob someone who turns out to be a stronger robber.
tags: archaic
colloquial
glosses: To discover someone who cannot be controlled or disposed of more generally.
tags: archaic
colloquial
figuratively
Forms:
form: catches a Tartar
tags: present
singular
third-person
form: catching a Tartar
tags: participle
present
form: caught a Tartar
tags: participle
past
form: caught a Tartar
tags: past
form: get someone for a Tartar
tags: alternative