h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

As the one who used "tar baby" above, I have to admit I didn't know most of that The term has become a dictionary definition, at least in the US:

"tar baby noun
A situation or problem from which it is virtually impossible to disentangle oneself.
[After "Bre'r Rabbit and the Tar Baby," an Uncle Remus story by Joel Chandler Harris.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Third Edition copyright © 1992 by Houghton Mifflin Company."

Nice posts, Looneytunes, I vote yes on the Guide Entry.

Thanks for the definition. I've read a story like that too, except the sticky figure was made of soft mud, and built by an elephant to get even with a lazy rabbit "friend" of his who'd been stealing his crops.