Dog Idioms

Several words have found themselves used in a number of phrases. We looked at 'cat' last time and this time, rather predictably, it's 'dog'.

Surprisingly people were living ‘a dog’s life’ as early as 1600…….

….. and ten years later they were ‘going to the dogs’.

Prior to that, in the 1520s, we find the expression ‘dog cheap’, which is either rarely used today or has been largely replaced by ‘dirt cheap’.

In Greek, Roman and Indian cultures of antiquity, the worst throw in dice was known as ‘the dog’ – and the the luckiest player was known as the ‘dog killer’. The latter is probably seen in the Greek word kindynos which may be used to mean ‘danger’ but could be translated as ‘play the dog’.

Every dog has ‘had its day’ since 1550 – and not only do we know when but whom, for this was found in the correspondence of none other than Princess Elizabeth, later Queen Elizabeth I.

In 1836 we find the expression ‘dog’s age’ referring to ‘a long time’.

The compertitive ‘dog eat dog’ is first seen in the 1850s.

The phrase ‘put on the dog’ is seen from 1934; used to mean ‘to dress one’s best’, it probably dates from the time when the stiff collar was known as the dog collar.

Dogged, in the sense of ‘persistent, obstinate’, is first used in 1779. Dogged had been used since 1300 in a derogatory sense to mean ‘surly, contemptible’; and two centuries later to mean ‘cruel, malicious’.

If you’ve heard someone complain ‘the dogs are barking’ when referring to their feet hurting, it comes from the rhyming slang ‘dog’s meat’ = feet; first seen in 1913.

Hotdogs were first served and named around 1890; although cartoonist Tad Dorgan had gone on record (and several times) saying he suspected this food item contained dog meat. It should be noted there has never been any suggestion this was why they were named.

Hot dog was also used to describe someone skilled (and knowing it) to the point of showing off by 1896; and ten years later as an expression of approval.

The long dry days of summer, known as dog days, get that name because of the position of Sirius in the night sky. Sirius being known as the Dog Star.

Dog-gone (said to be a more polite version of god-damned) appears for the first time in 1849.

Dog tag, the identity discs worn by some military, appears in 1918 and is thought to allude to the similarity between these and those on dog collars.

Sea dog is first seen at the end of the 16th century, but used to refer to a harbour seal. It is used to describe pirates from aroyund 1650, and old seamen and sailors from about 1823. Note in Middle English (pre-Tudor times) ‘sea-hound’ was the term used to describe both the walrus (which does go to sea) and the beaver (which doesn’t).

Nobody swam using doggy-paddle until 1860.

Dogs never wore a dog collar until the 1520s.

Touch Idioms

Several words have found themselves used in a number of phrases. We looked at 'Dutch' last time and this time it's 'touch'.

Touch and go is a game similar to tag, first seen in 1812.

Touch football, a 'safe' form of American Football (to the British) where tackling is replaced by a mere touch and is first recorded in 1933.

Touch me not is an expression first recorded in 1590, it's a put down used to deter would be suitors.

Touch screen is first seen as early as 1974.

Touch up, and I'm using this in its earliest sense of 'improvement requiring little effort' is first seen in 1872; and if used in a painting sense, dates from 1715.

Touch wood (or knock on wood) dates from at least Celtic times 2,500 years ago.

Touchdown, the main scoring method in American Football, comes from 1864 and was borrowed from rugby where it is recorded five years earlier.

Touchstone, a fine-grained black quartz used for testing gold and silver alloys, is first seen in the late 15th century.

Touched, a term meaning 'stirred emotionally', is first seen in the middle of the 14th century.

Touch Idioms

Several words have found themselves used in a number of phrases. We looked at 'word' last time and this time it's 'touch'

Touch and go is derived from a chasing game originating in the early 18th century. Note, this is not an acronym for TAG.

Touch football, where the player is considered tackled and has to cede possession, is first seen in 1933.

Touch-me-not is older than the previous two, dating from around 1590 and translated from the Latin noli-me-tangere.

Touch up, in the sense of making corrections to a painting or work of art, is seen from 1715. The sexual reference is difficult to pin down, but appears to be a 20th century adaptation of the earlier usage.

Touch screen technology may only have been popular with the coming of the first iPhone in 2007, but the technology dates back to 1965. Oddly, the phrase did not come into use until 1974, meaning for nine years the touch screen was called ....... well, we don't know.

Touch type is held to have been popularised by Frank Edward McGurrin, a court stenographer from Salt Lake City in Utah, USA. It is likely the skill had been perfected not long after the typewriter was invented in the early 17th century, but McGurrin advertised teaching the skill in 1888 and is the first written evidence as touch typing. That early typewriter would never have seen any touch typing, for the machine invented by Henry Mill was never mass produced and, more importantly, was never known as a typewrite but known as a 'machine for transcribing letters'.

Touchdown, a term synonymous with American football, was first used in 1864 but in the sport of rugby. No aircraft is known to have touched down before 1935. That is not to say they didn't land safely, just that the phrase was not used until then.