tar baby

Tar baby comes from a folktale in which a sticky figure traps anyone who touches it—the more they struggle, the more stuck they become.

The term describes a problem that worsens with each attempt to solve it: The lawsuit became a tar baby for the company.

Because the original story was published in dialect associated with Black Americans, and because of the word's racial sound, tar baby is now often perceived as a racial slur even when used in its figurative sense.

This makes it risky in public discourse regardless of intent.