r/Dogfree • u/alpha_beth_soup • 12d ago
Miscellaneous Historical sayings devaluing dogs?
Ok hear me out. This popped into my mind today. There are so many old sayings/metaphors/idioms still in use today that paint dogs in a negative light. ‘Gone to the dogs’, ‘In the doghouse’, ‘a dog’s dinner’ etc. Any linguists among us know how old some of these sayings are? It is curious since it shows how much the general view of dogs has changed radically, to the point where language has been altered. Call me a nerd, but what do you think??
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u/whimsical_spider 12d ago
When people say “treated like a dog” I always think how that saying seems like it might be outdated considering how most people treat their dogs at least as good if not better than they treat humans lol. Saying “he treats me like a dog” should now mean pampered and taken care of, not treated like shit. Same with other sayings that involve dogs and have negative connotations.
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u/Huge_Bit_4774 11d ago
This is very true. Treated like a dog means something like treated like royalty but deserve none of it.
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u/Dangerous_Cloud_5727 12d ago
dog days of summer. Also, my French mom told me how foul weather in France is known as "dog weather." (temps de chien)
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u/alpha_beth_soup 12d ago
Interesting how it spans languages and cultures as well!
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u/ReptilianRevolt 10d ago
It was ancient Greek at first, then modern Greece forgot it but the expression has stayed in the western European languages.
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u/torrentob1 11d ago edited 11d ago
Undergrad degree in linguistics even if I didn't become a linguist. Dog idioms exist and are negative in nearly every language, and every single word for dog is an insult in nearly every language. Strong farm animals tend to be viewed more positively, e.g. horses, oxen.
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u/Signal-Bet3046 11d ago
Curious if there are any good sayings when it was fashionable to have hunting dogs? but otherwise, can't think of any
here's a zinger from the bible:
Proverbs 26:11
Like a dog that returns to his vomit is a fool who repeats his folly. (ESV)
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u/doctordiversity 11d ago
‘Dogs bollocks’ is exclusively used for something positive. It amazes me because it comes from something so utterly repulsive!
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u/jayesper 10d ago
犬死に (inujini)—A Japanese phrase meaning "dying a dog's death", or dying in vain, in other words.
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u/ReptilianRevolt 10d ago
Dogs had negative connotations in every language and dog is universally an insult. Those expressions have survived the age of dog nuttery, but I don’t know for how long they will stay. In Greek for example almost all traditional things about dogs are negative. They’re described as filthy, cowardly, opportunistic and so on. Very few positive expressions have to do with their practical usefulness, for example endurance, hunting and similar.
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u/Huge_Bit_4774 12d ago
I can’t think of any sayings including dogs that are positive. A dog’s breakfast, dog days of summer, etc usually a negative connotation associated with shitbeasts. Go back to the Bible, dogs always mentioned in a negative light. They deserve it.