Talk:go to the dogs

Etymology

Possibly related to an ancient Egyptian (possibly Persian and Middle Eastern also) belief that a pair of dogs - hounds of the Dark Goddess Hekat (Greek: Hecate) guarded the gates to the underworld.

It is said that the body of King Henry VIII was taken to Syon House in Brentford. During the night the coffin popped open, and servants found dogs licking the remains.

In Britain during times when bodies weren't buried or cremated, it is known that bodies were fed to dogs.

Moved from gone to the dogs. DCDuring TALK 01:24, 2 November 2009 (UTC)

Egyptian? Middle Persian? This is an Ancient Greek and Roman myth and the dog is called Cerberus, but it is only one, albeit with three heads... Perhaps hence the plural. The uſer hight Bogorm converſation 17:26, 30 November 2009 (UTC)

John Camden Hotten's Slang Dictionary (1873) suggests "originally a stable term applied to old or worthless horses, sold to feed hounds". Equinox ◑ 20:07, 27 September 2020 (UTC)