Dog lingo
a look at how the english language embraces man's best friend
The English language is a living language, meaning it’s still growing and changing with the times. We add words like meta and google to the dictionary, words that didn’t exist before the information age. There are many words that remind us of our relationship to animals, especially dogs. I’ve gathered a few here for the Dog Wise pack. Below are some figures of speech (and some fun facts to go with them) that showcase our “dogged” love of man’s best friend.
Doggone
an adjective used to express pleasure, surprise, or consternation. This one originated in the early 19th century from dog on it, a euphemism for gosh darn it. “Well, I’ll be doggone,” said the Beagle when he discovered where he’d buried his bone.
Dogging it
a verb from the 1920’s mob scene to describe backing down in a cowardly fashion. Today, it means to shirk one’s responsibilities, loaf, or take the easy way out. I knew a Basset Hound that lived like that.
Dog-a-rific
I made this one up, but …
