The expression hot diggity dog! reportedly
dates back to 1928, when Al Jolson was recorded saying: "Hot diggity dog!
Hot kitty! Hot pussycat! Didn't I tell you you'd love it?” after a performance
of the tune "There's A Rainbow Around My Shoulder.”
While that song was about rainbows, not dogs,
the song “Hot
Diggity (Dog Ziggity Boom)” was popularized by Perry Como in
1956.
It definitely didn't end in the 50s. Google “hot
diggity dog” and you’ll find a wide range of images, products and restaurants.
2. It’s a Dog’s Life
Anyone who has a dog can understand why it’s
a dog’s life means being pampered, loved and treated as a member of the
family.
But did you know the term originally meant
leading a miserably unhappy existence? In the 16th century, when the phrase was
first recorded, dogs were kept as watchdogs or hunting animals, fed food scraps
and not allowed in the house.
Today, there are "Dog’s Life"
groomers, spas, and walking services. We’re glad dogs are now cherished
pets.
3. Eat Your Own Dog Food
This is a tech term that describes a company
using its own products or services to test or promote them. It’s also
called dogfooding.
The first recorded usage was in 1988 when Paul
Maritz, a Microsoft executive, emailed a colleague about testing software: “We
are going to have to eat our own dog food and test the product ourselves.”
But it’s thought the idea of the term originated
from an Alpo commercial, in which the actor feeds the promoted food to his own
golden retriever.
The phrase has gained traction outside the tech
community, and has recently been seen in both school mottos and professional
guides.
4. Down Dog
You likely say “down, dog” when your pet jumps
up on someone or reaches for food on the kitchen counter.
But down dog—also called downward
dog and downward-facing dog—is a yoga pose, or asana. There’s
no mystery about how it got its name. Many asanas are named for animals, and
this one looks just like the stretch your dog does naturally when it wakes up
for a nap.
In Sanskrit—the ancient Indian language used in
yoga—the name for downward facing dog is adho mukha svanasana. Adho means
downward, mukha means face, and svana means
dog.
5. Dog-eat-dog World
A dog-eat-dog world describes a
situation fraught with ruthless competition.
In the book, Now You Know Everything,
author Doug Lennox writes: “In the year 43 BC, Roman scholar Marcus Tarentius
Varro observed humanity and remarked that even ‘a dog will not eat dog.’ His
point was that humans are less principled in the matter of destroying their own
kind than other animals. By the sixteenth century, the phrase became a metaphor
for ruthless competition. And during the Industrial Revolution the expression
‘It’s a dog-eat-dog world’ became commonplace.”
6. Dog-ear [dawg-eer, dog-]
Fold down the corner of a book page to mark where
you’ve stopped reading, and you’ve dog-eared your place so you know
where to pick up.
The term comes from the observation that some
dogs’ ears stand erect while others flop over.
If you borrow a book from a friend, think twice before you dog-ear a page.
Many people feel their books deserve more care and respect.
7. Dog-tired
Legend has it that we have Alfred the Great—king
of Wessex in Great Britain from 871 to 899—to thank for our use of the
adjective dog-tired to mean utterly exhausted.
Alfred would send his sons Athelbrod and Edwin
out hunting with his extensive kennels of hunting dogs. Whichever son caught
more hounds would be rewarded by being seated at his father's right-hand side
at the dinner table that evening. These chases would leave the boys
dog-tired.
8. Dog and Pony Show
The disparaging term dog-and-pony show refers
to an elaborate sales, advertising, or publicity presentation or campaign.
The origin of the term can be traced back to the
1920s, when small traveling circuses, which toured through rural areas in the
United States, used performing dogs and ponies as the main attractions of the
events.
While dog-and-pony show is often used today to
describe annoying events or presentations to drive car and financial sales, the
expression has also been adopted by sports and political figures.
9. Dog days
Dog days are the hot, sultry days of summer. The Old Farmer’s Almanac says the
dog days are the 40 days beginning on July 3 and ending on August 11.
Historically, dog days refers to Sirius, the dog
star, and its position in the heavens. The Greeks and Romans observed that the
hottest time of the year, in late July, occurred during the period when Sirius
appeared to rise at the same time as the sun.
10. Hair of the Dog
This peculiar expression refers to a remedy that
contains a small amount of whatever caused the illness, such as a drink of
liquor to relieve a hangover. The phrase reflects an ancient practice of
putting a piece of dog's hair, sometimes cooked into an ointment, over a
dog-bite wound to help prevent infection.
11. Let Sleeping Dogs Lie
It's simple, really: Don't disturb things at
peace if you don't want to cause problems! Why dogs? The idea here is that dogs
might bite or snarl if their naps are cut short—most of us can relate.
12. Barking Up the Wrong Tree
This phrase is often used to refer to someone
who is doggedly flirting with an unreceptive target. Barking up the
wrong tree means you're chasing something that's not worth the chase, or
maybe something that's not even there! Can you picture a dog barking at tree
branches that no longer hold a squirrel (that he's so convinced he's caught)?
13. Old Dogs and New Tricks
When someone says "you can’t teach an
old dog new tricks" they mean it's hard to change established habits.
The expression was likely informed by a passage on elderly pooches from a book
of husbandry published way backing 1523: "The dogge must lerne it whan he
is a whelpe or els it wyll not be, for it is harde to make an olde dogge to
stoupe."
14. See a Man About a Dog
If visit the loo, take a bio
break, and powder my nose are too transparent for your
tastes, try this charmingly opaque euphemism for visiting the restroom. The
expression is also used to excuse oneself for other, non-loo related reasons.
15. As Sick as a Dog
This expression was first recorded in 1705, and
though its origin is unclear, it could be a nod to dogs' indiscriminating
approach to cuisine, which sometimes results in sickness. Other variants of
this phrase are as sick as a horse, and even as sick
as a parrot.