What is Tar Baby?
1.
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.
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Biff: Let's beat the sh*t out of that tar baby.
Tad: Shall we?
2.
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.
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3.
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.”
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4.
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
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5.
An african american baby, most likely very black.
Oh gosh it's a tar baby! Lock the car doors!
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6.
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
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7.
A black person, or a white person covered in tar...that looks like a nigger
Wow...you are so black, you are a tar baby.
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