尾大不掉

Traditional form:

尾大不掉

Pinyin (reading):

wěidàbùdiào

Definitions:

• large tail obstructs action (idiom); bottom heavy
• fig. rendered ineffective by subordinates

Characters:

• 尾 - tail; extremity, end; back, rear
• 大 - big, great, vast, high, deep
• 不 - no, not, un-; negative prefix
• 掉 - to drop, to fall, to remove

Traditional characters:

• 尾 - tail; extremity, end; back, rear
• 大 - big, great, vast, high, deep
• 不 - no, not, un-; negative prefix
• 掉 - to drop, to fall, to remove