Literal translation
he went off with his tail between his legs
Meaning
he left with his tail between his legs
Explanation
This expression describes someone withdrawing in shame, crestfallen, after a failure or a humiliation. The literal image is borrowed directly from a dog's behaviour: when scolded or frightened, the animal tucks its tail between its hind legs, an instinctive posture of submission and vulnerability that contrasts with the raised tail of a proud or playful dog. Transposed onto a human being, the canine posture becomes the visible emblem of a moral defeat: there is no longer any need to describe the person's inner state, their silhouette tells the whole story. The word co, which denotes both the tail and, by figurative extension, a crestfallen or dazed person, reinforces this double reading, object and state almost merging into one. The phrase is familiar, used without particular malice, often with a hint of mocking sympathy for someone who boasted before suffering a setback. It applies just as well to an individual as, by extension, to a group or a team withdrawing from a lost confrontation.