As an idiom it almost seems straightforward, if you don’t have a dog.  Dogs as a whole can eat, romp through, and roll in the nastiest of things, seemingly without ill effects.  So where would such and expression come from?  

In the 5 minutes of research I did before starting to write this it seems that at certain points in time the word ‘dog’ has had a negative connotation and been used as an intensifier (this article mentions ‘sick as a dog,’ and ‘gone to the dogs’ among others).  After a few centuries the connotations fall away and we’re left with a saying that is puzzling when you think about it too hard.

If you’re puzzled why I bring this up, well “sick as a dog” is how I’d been feeling the previous week.  I felt run down last Wednesday, and by Friday was wanting to climb in bed after just getting out of it.  Saturday I was feeling better, which was good because I had my cousin’s wedding to go to. So when it came time to start the 90 mile (one way) drive I dosed myself with DayQuil and headed out.

I was in a road rage within six blocks, so I went home and stayed there.  I’m feeling better(ish) now, but still not 100% (maybe 80-82%).  Taking the Little Dogs for a walk this morning has worn me out more than I would have liked.

There were some posts I wanted to get out this week, and I’ll still try, but they maybe harder and more exhausting to get to than I would have hoped.  Stay well!