"Have the world by tail" ?

Posted by Brian from Shawnee on August 16, 2005

In Reply to: "Have the world by tail" ? posted by ESC on August 15, 2005

: : What is the the meaning of "Have the world by tail" ?

: I have heard "have the world on a string." String or tail, it means that you've got everything under control, you have a bright future, etc. Everything is going your way.

It sure sounds like somebody mixed up "world on a string" (good) with "tiger by the tail" (bad). But Google turns up a few thousand hits on "world by the tail". Here's a quote from 'Neutron Jack' Welch, disgraced chairman of GE, in happier days giving a speech to Harvard business school graduates: "You know when you've been a jackass ... Remember the things you did that you wished you didn't do. Leave all that stuff here," Welch advised. "You can take the world by the tail, as long as you're not a jerk."