拖尾巴

tuōwěiba

verb

Meanings

HSK 4

这件事一定要彻底完成，不能拖尾巴。

Zhè jiàn shì yídìng yào chèdǐ wánchéng, bùnéng tuōwěiba.

This matter must be wrapped up completely, no loose ends.

HSK 7-9

你别拖尾巴，影响整个团队的进度。

Nǐ bié tuōwěiba, yǐngxiǎng zhěnggè tuánduì de jìndù.

Don't be a drag, you're slowing the whole team down.

memory

The image is a person literally dragging a tail (尾巴) behind them, slowing themselves and others down. Synonymous with 拖后腿 ('drag the back leg').

Colloquial / dialectal (esp. northern). Two senses: (1) holding others back, (2) leaving unfinished business.

拖 tuō

尾 wěi

巴 bā