tail wagging the dog
Subordinate directing superior
A situation where a small or subordinate part controls the whole, reversing the natural order of importance.
The tail should follow the dog's movements, not direct them.
The phrase describes cases where minor concerns drive major decisions, or where something that should be secondary takes charge: Letting the marketing department set product specs is the tail wagging the dog.
- put the cart before the horseReverse proper order
- role reversalExchange of typical positions
- inversionReversal of position
- upside downReversed in vertical orientation
- wagMove briskly back-and-forth
paradox · spin doctoring · media spin · disproportion · distortion · saying · idiom · metaphor · narrative control · manipulation · propaganda · political theater · lobbying · behind the scenes · hidden agenda · coercion · dog · undue pressure
tail wagging the dogtop-down management
Leadership from the hierarchy's apex
the buck stops here · command and control · executive authority · chain of command
tail wagging the dogmain event
Featured performance or contest
first things first · center stage · majority rules · big picture thinking
tail wagging the dogtop-down management
Leadership from the hierarchy's apex
natural order · hierarchy · command structure · the buck stops here · centralized control