Tar Baby Rabbit Brer Tahr Bay Bee Noun Avoided

Something to be avoided: a sticky situation or problem from which it's almost impossible to extricate oneself.

[After "Brer Rabbit and the Tar Baby", one of the folk stories compiled by Joel Chandler Harris (1848-1908) in Uncle Remus: His Songs and His Sayings. In the story, Brer Fox tries to trap Brer Rabbit by making a baby doll out of tar and puts it on the side of the road. Earliest documented use: 1881, in the above-mentioned story.]

"The Nixon tar baby clung to Mr. Ford. A month after taking office he pardoned the ex-president, immediately dissipating much of the good will derived from his handling of the White House changeover." - Editorial; A Ford, Not a Lincoln; The Blade (Toledo, Ohio); Dec 28, 2006.