Dogs in Space.

3/11/2010

Today's bit of doggerel concerns dog talk (and read on because we, and I use the term advisedly because as of now the we consists only of my daughter and me) are taking a poll! I know, hot dog! A poll!
Anyway, what other creatures' habits but dogs are so familiar to the majority of humankind that elicits so many words and phrases in common use?

Two plants are named for dogs that I find-- the dogwood tree and dogtooth violet; also there is a dog-fish, a small shark, hopefully it dog paddles. Of course one has dogs for feet. It's a dog-eat-dog world, this book is dog-eared, and I feel dog tired. At this time of year we might wish for the dog days. Doggy bags from restaurants are not often for dogs-- it makes a good excuse though. Real dog fights are much in the news recently, during WWII the dog fights over England may have saved the world. Golf holes have dog legs. Dog trot, a phrase not often heard these days, indicates pace but, in some locales, a roofed passage between buildings. Finding yourself in the doghouse is a bad thing, but it also might it also finds use as a word for a caboose, a shack or a place on a rocket that contains scientific instruments. You might be dogged in pursuit. Dog tired. Lazy as a dog, or dogging it at your job. Umpires were sometimes known as dog robbers. I wish I had a hush puppy. You might put on the dog before you go out.

WWII came up with some interesting dog terms. There's dog tags of course. Dog or pup tents and soldiers were called dogfaces. A dog show-- a foot inspection (trench foot and foot diseases "dogged" the infantry.) Dog food described the hash served to soldiers and sailors.
Lunch wagons have been called dog wagons. Drinking too has hair of the dog, and a concoction of beer and gin was called a dog's nose.

Men are wolves, while women are dogs. This and the term bitch puzzle me. Female dogs are sweet-- so how did the word bitch come to have such a connotation? Apparently wordsmiths are stumped as well.

So that's it for today except for the poll.

Who is your favorite dog cartoon character?

1. Goofy

2. Huckleberry Hound

3. Ren (from Ren and Stimpy)

4. Scoobie Do

5. Write in candidates (suggestions are Astro from the Jetsons; Augie Doggy and Doggy Daddy; Mr. Peabody? from the Rocky and Bullwinkle show; Pluto, et al.)

Put in one vote for Huckleberry Hound.