the Australian phrase ‘to kill a brown dog’: meanings, origin
1950—used of a substance causing death or illness, and by extension of something powerful or disastrous—refers to red kelpie sheep dogs, who can ingest anything
Read MoreTag: dogs
the British and Irish phrase ‘No-Mates’ (friendless)
UK, 1993—a person, usually a man, regarded as friendless—often used as a humorous surname following a generic first name such as ‘Billy’
Read Moreearly history of the phrase ‘the dog ate my homework’
far-fetched excuse for failing to hand in school homework—1st recorded UK 1929 but had already long been in usage at that time—dog eating a sermon UK 1894
Read Moremeaning and possible origin of ‘the (dog’s) bollocks’
UK, 1980s—the very best—perhaps from ‘it sticks out like a dog’s ballocks’, denoting something obvious, hence someone or something that sticks out from the rest
Read Moremeaning and origin of the British phrase ‘a racing dog’s bollocks’
UK, 1988—used in similes to denote something that protrudes—originated in British military slang
Read Morethe history of ‘dog’s breakfast’ and ‘dog’s dinner’
UK—a confused mess—alludes to the jumbled nature of a dog’s meal—‘like a dog’s dinner’: over-elaborately or ostentatiously dressed
Read Moremeaning, origin and early instances of ‘to lie doggo’
UK, 1882—to remain motionless and quiet; to keep a low profile—probably from ‘dog’ and suffix ‘-o’, with allusion to the characteristically light sleep of a dog
Read Moremeaning and origin of the phrase ‘the tail wags the dog’
USA, 1870—an unimportant or subsidiary factor, person or thing dominates the situation—based on the image of the inversion of the natural order
Read Moremeaning and origin of the phrase ‘like a dog with two tails’
USA, 1822—extremely pleased, delighted—alludes to the belief that a dog wags its tail as a sign of pleasure or happiness
Read Morethe Welsh origin of the phrase ‘to let the dog see the rabbit’
1893—to allow someone to get on with their task—originated in Wales with reference to fair-mindedness in sports
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