Language: en
Meaning: (idiomatic,colloquial,especiallypolitics)Apersonwhohasunexpectedlyattainedanaspirationalgoalandisnowunsurewhat todo withit.Synonym:the proverbial dog that caught the car1987,Dale Bumpers, “Commission on the Bicentennial of the United States Constitution”, inSenate Hearings before the Committee on Appropriations,99-1027, Pr. 2, p. 634:So I went out, and I was telling thePresidentabout what a tough time being Governor was. I felt likethe dog that caught the car; I really wasn't equipped to be governor... When I got ready to leave, I realized that I had bored a guy who had to make the decision to dropthe bomb, telling him what a tough job being the governor ofArkansaswas.2002May 15,Don Randall, "Workplace Relations Amendment (Prohibition of Compulsory Union Fees) Bill 2002: Second Reading",Parliamentary Debates: House of Representatives(Official Hansard), p. 2235:Mr Reynolds, you might be interested, who seems to be one of the six who run theLabor PartyinWestern Australia, says this aboutMr Kobelke: 'As I have said beforeMr Kobelkeand the government are likea dog that caught the car—they didn't know what to do about it when they caught it.'"2018February 27, Dave Holmes,"Sean Hannity's Favorite Piece of Trump-Era Art Is Terrifying",Esquire:It captures the face ofa dog that's caught the car.2022February 25, Chris Grey,"The Dogs that Caught the Car",Brexit & Beyond:Since its use on the very day after the referendum, it has become aclichéto say thatBrexitersare like ‘the dog that caught the car’, achieving something they had never expected and then did not know what to do with. That was obvious from the very first hours after the2016 vote, whenJohnsonandGoveappeared on TV looking both shocked and scared.2022May 10, Alex Shephard,"WithRoe, the GOP Isthe Dog that Caught the Car",The New Republic:In this sense, theGOParethe proverbial dog that caught the car. For decades, they have been working their voters into frothing hysteria over the need to protect the unborn fromabortionistsand theirDemocraticprotectors. But what this means in practice... is far less appealing. From a public health standpoint, thedraft decisionleaked on Monday is an abomination. From a political standpoint, it imperilsmidterm victoriesthat werefor all intents and purposesinevitable.
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