The International New
York Times
published an article on December 28, 2015, in its Science section, with the
headline: ‘A Lion Expert Who Isn’t Inclined to Turn Tail.’ What does ‘turn
tail’ mean?
According to Oxford Dictionaries, ‘turn tail’ is an informal term
meaning ‘turn around and run away.’ It also means to flee or to run away in
fright. Hence there is usually an element of shock, fright, or something that
is scarey, causing a person to quickly leave, to dash away, to suddenly depart.
The American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms indicates that the term
originated in the mid-1500s, referring to an animal turning its back in flight
– in other words, turning around, showing its tail, and running away. Hence to
‘turn tail’ is showing your tail, or back, or rear end, as you run away.
The article headline suggests that there is a lion expert who does not
turn tail – does not turn away in fright. The article starts with a story by
‘one of the world’s foremost experts on African lions’ Dr. Craig Packer from
the University of Minnesota, who was interviewed in Minneapolis, America. He
was in the Serengeti in Africa when a lioness was stalking him. Instead of
running away, he ‘charged straight at the big cat, clapping his hands and
shouting.’ Fortunately the lioness turned tail. The article states that ‘it is
only one of several close encounters with lions that Dr. Packer recounts, but
this one seems to capture something, his tendency to ignore danger signs perhaps,
or his habit of running toward trouble rather than away from it.’
Dr. Packer – who operated the Serengeti Lion Project in Tanzania for 35
years – has other ‘formidable adversaries’ such as dissenting colleagues, angry
trophy hunters, corrupt politicians, and other scientists. He has dealt with
death threats and a burglary. He is an out-spoken controversial person,
according to some quotes in the article. The article states ‘like the lioness,
his opponents discovered that he is unlikely to give ground.’ ‘To give ground’
is another idiom. It means that he is unlikely to give up his territory, to
yield any land, or to retreat. However, in 2004, wildlife officials withdrew
his research permit and the government barred him from entering Tanzania again
for allegedly making statements about the trophy hunting industry.
Scorecard for The International
New York Times headline is 100%. The article includes several examples in
which Dr. Packer did not ‘turn tail’ – instead, he confronted his challenges
head-on. In the end, although Dr. Packer did not turn tail, he was forced to
retreat (to give ground) when he was banned from returning to Tanzania, the
location of his scientific research on lions in the Serengeti. He retreated to
his homeland America. He did not turn tail in fright, but ‘leaving Tanzania has
freed him to speak and write without worrying about the consequences.’
MARTINA NICOLLS is the
author of:- The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest
Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The
Sudan Curse (2009).
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