have the wolf by the ear

Questions

What does have the wolf by the ear mean?

To be in a dangerous situation from which one cannot disengage, but in which one cannot safely remain.

Where does have the wolf by the ear come from?

Initially attributed to Roman Emperor Tiberius circa year 1 AD by biographer C. Suetonius Tranquillus. United States, 1820, Thomas Jefferson, writing about the institution of slavery and the Missouri Compromise: : "But, as it is, we have the wolf by the ear, and we can neither hold him nor safely let him go. Justice is in one scale, and self-preservation in the other." :: — Thomas Jefferson to John Holmes (discussing slavery and the Missouri question), Monticello, 22 April 1820

How to pronounce have the wolf by the ear

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