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What is "to catch a tartar"

The Collaborative International Dictionary
To catch a tartar

Tartar \Tar"tar\, n.

  1. [Per. T[=a]t[=a]r, of Tartar origin.] A native or inhabitant of Tartary in Asia; a member of any one of numerous tribes, chiefly Moslem, of Turkish origin, inhabiting the Russian Europe; -- written also, more correctly but less usually, Tatar.

  2. A person of a keen, irritable temper.

    To catch a tartar, to lay hold of, or encounter, a person who proves too strong for the assailant. [Colloq.]