• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
Zippy Facts Logo

Zippy Facts

Interesting Random Facts

  • Animals
  • Culture
  • Firsts
  • Food
  • Geography
  • Health
  • History
  • Inventions
  • Language
  • Mythology
  • Odds
  • People
  • Religion
  • Science
  • Space
  • Universe
  • World
You are here: Home / Language / Where does the phrase “to go to the dogs” come from and What does it mean?

Where does the phrase “to go to the dogs” come from and What does it mean?

May 6, 2020 by Karen Hill

Sometimes things are thrown to the dogs or sent to the dogs, but nowadays, at least, it is usually the country or the younger generation that is going to the dogs.

In any case, “to the dogs” means utter ruin, straight to hell, the demnition bow-wows.

The dog, you see, was not always the house pet that it has now largely become. It was kept for its utility, chiefly in hunting.

Such food as it received from its master might be no more than the bones tossed over his shoulder into the straw litter that covered the floor.

Our first record of the figurative usage is in Thomas Cooper’s Dictionary (1563), rightly named Thesaurus Linguae Romanae et Britannicae, in the Latin phrase: addicere aliquem canibus, to bequeath him to dogs.

Related Facts

  • How Long Do Dogs and Cats Live For and Why Do Different Breeds Of Dogs Live Longer Than Others?
  • Why Do Dogs Wag Their Tails and How Do Dogs Use Eye Contact To Communicate With Each Other?
  • Are bigger dogs with bigger brains more intelligent than smaller dogs with smaller brains?
  • How Are Seeing Eye Dogs Taught to Interpret Stoplights if Dogs Are Color-Blind?
  • Where does the phrase "to rain cats and dogs" come from and What does the expression mean?
  • What does the phrase "let sleeping dogs lie" come from and What does it mean?

Filed Under: Language

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

Previous Post: « Where does the expression “to lock the barn door after the horse is stolen” come from?
Next Post: Where does the expression “eager beaver” come from and What does eager beaver mean? »

Footer

Follow

  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • GitHub
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Medium
  • Pinterest
  • StumbleUpon
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Categories

Accomplishments Animals Culture Firsts Food Geography Health History Inventions Language Mythology Odds People Religion Science Space Universe World Your Body

About

Zippy Facts empowers the world by serving educational content that is accessible to everyone.

A tribute to growing up, zippyfacts.com showcases interesting and unusual facts about the world.

Our mission is to use technology to facilitate knowledge transfer and sharing.

Copyright © 2021 Zippy Facts

  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy