Dog

See also: dog, DOG, and dög

English

Etymology

The figurative sense "Newcastle Brown Ale" comes from the euphemism "I'm going to walk the dog" or "I'm going to see a man about a dog", meaning "I'm going to the pub for a drink". This was further popularised by a 1980s advertising campaign.

Proper noun

Dog

1. A name given to a dog
   • 1979, Allen Eyles, John Wayne

     He is about to break up a small lynching party down below, thinks better of it (muttering to his dog, called Dog, "No, sir, I ain't")

2. A nickname given to people, especially tough men
   • 1994, Larry Woody, A Dixie Farewell: The Life and Death of Chucky Mullins

     Brewer, whose coaching nickname is "Dog," recognized that same stubborn, dogged determination in Mullins.

3. The language supposedly spoken by dogs
   • 2015, Harper Lin, Pawsitively Dead: A Wonder Cats Mystery

     I blinked. “I thought you were talking to Blake about a dog.”

     “Cath,” Jake said, “I'm trying to be more open about this. Didn't you just say that you could talk to animals?”

     The realization dawned on me. “I don't speak Dog very well, but it's worth a try.”

4. The eleventh of the 12-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar.
5. (Geordie, slang) Newcastle Brown Ale

Synonyms

• (The language spoken by dogs): dog, dogspeak
• (Newcastle Brown Ale): Broon (Geordie), Broonale (Geordie), Journey into Space (Geordie, idiomatic), Newkie Brown

Anagrams

• God, god