TARTAR (2)

Tar″tar (?), n. 1. 1. [[Per. Tātār, 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. 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.