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January 14, 2011

Strange But True!

Q. People say “A dog is a man's best friend.” But how might the history of the word “dog” suggest otherwise?

A. “Dog” in fact has myriad derogatory uses, says Jan Keessen in “Cardinal Men and Scarlet Women.” In Middle English, “dogge” meant poor and worthless. Today, “dogs” can be unattractive women, contemptible fellows, boring dates, Broadway flops, or your tired and smelly feet. A doggish person is surly and gruff, to be doggoned is to be damned, dog-eared books are shabby, doggerel is trivial, and contrary to what dog lovers might believe, leading a dog's life refers to “a wretched existence.” In a dog-eat-dog world, people are given to all manner of viciousness; or they can be mean as the dog in the manger from Aesop's fables (a barking dog prevents the hardworking ox from eating hay). In another myth, the dog days of summer are the most sweltering ones (July 3 to Aug. 11).


 
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