I was sitting around the house thinking about my next article when my daughter dragged herself upstairs from her room and said to me, “I am sicker than a dog.” I thought to myself, where did that expression come from? Do dogs typically get sicker than humans? Well, I knew the answer was no, but it made me curious about the origins of some of our most commonly used canine expressions.
Let’s start with “Sicker than a dog.” This expression means very ill. The origin is from the Bible. In the Bible, Proverb 26:11 states, “As a dog returneth to his vomit, so a fool returneth to his folly,” and in 2 Peter 2:22, it states, “The dog is turned to his own vomit again.” Yuck!
“You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.” First of all, that is not true. This means that an older person cannot learn to change their ways. The origin stems back to 1523. John Fitzherbert told readers of “Newe Tracte or Treatyse Moost Profytable for Husbande Men” that “The dogge must lerne when he is a whelpe, or els it wyl not be; for it is harde to make an elde dogge to stoupe.” Then in 1670, John Ray wrote this Proverb: “An old dog will learn no tricks. It’s all one to physick the dead, as to instruct old men.” (Pardon all the old English!)
“Dog days of summer.” This refers to the hottest days of the summer. This expression stems from the period in late July in which the “Dog Star,” Sirius, rises in conjunction with the sun. The ancients believed that the star’s heat added to the heat of the sun, creating a stretch of hot and sultry weather. They named this period of time, from 20 days before the conjunction to 20 days after, “dog days.”
“Dog and pony show.” This is a show or event that has been organized in order to get people’s support or to persuade them to buy something. The origin stems back to 1890. Reports started to appear in local newspapers of small traveling troupes of performers billed as “dog and pony shows.” It wasn’t until the 1950’s that the sarcasm and negative connotation developed as a result of more flamboyant traveling circus shows touring.
“Barking up the wrong tree.” This expression is used when one takes a wrong course of action. The origin stems from the 19th century. When hunting raccoons, one had to go out at night with their dog. The raccoon would likely flee up a tree, and the dog was called to wait at the base and bark until the hunter arrived. If the dog had the wrong tree, the hunter was unlikely to get his prey. Davy Crockett used the expression in his 1833 text, “Sketches and Eccentricities.”
Well, I know I learned something new. Happy tails to everyone!
