Look at Daisy up there, simply enjoying the warmth of the sun, as only a dog really can. What a life of simple joys a dog lives, one we can all be envious of. Seeing her like that yesterday made me think of the phrase the dog days of summer. A lot of people assume that it refers to the hottest period of the summer, in which dogs are too tired to do anything else but lie in the afternoon heat. I can see the logic in that, but as I’d never looked into the origin of the phrase, I thought now was as good a time as any to do so.
As is usually the case, the origin is a lot older and more interesting than you might think. It actually dates back to the Ancient Greeks, and comes from their astrological observations. They noticed that in late July, the star Sirius appeared to rise just before the Sun. This star is known as the Dog Star. This is because it belongs to the constellation Canis Major (Greater Dog), which looks like a dog chasing the Lepus (Hare) constellation across the sky. Sirius forms the tip of the dog’s nose, and as it’s so bright it became known as the Dog Star.
So, the phrase has a much grander, cosmological origin than you might have thought. Still though, thinking of it as referring to the heat of that period, and its effect on dogs, makes sense too. That’s what we do when we don’t know what a phrase means: we look for an explanation that makes sense, and even it’s not the actual origin, if it fits, then what harm? When you hear the phrase the dog days of summer you’re going to think of the relative heat of the period (for most of us in the Northern Hemisphere late July and August are the hottest time of the year). And if that makes you think of panting dogs lazing in gardens on sunny afternoons, then why not let that be what it means for you?
There are two things about language at work here that I love. The first is the way in which a phrase can last for centuries, through various translations, and continue to be in use today. It seems almost impossible to imagine that a term probably coined by Ancient Greek astronomers is still commonly used, in a time when popular expressions flit in and out of fashion so quickly. Language can provide us with such a direct link to ancient history, and make us realise that no matter how distant the ancient past might seem, people then were still basically the same as us.
The second is how we analyse language to discover or create its meaning. Most of us don’t consciously think too much about language itself, while a few of us think far too much about it. But we all to some degree interpret new words and expressions. Usually we can understand them from context. But other times, we have to think about where the meaning of something might have come from. And sometimes we’ll get it right, or as in this case, come up with a different origin for a term that still makes sense.
There’s something else I really like about the origin of this term actually, and it’s that it shows that we’ve had the same opinion of dogs for thousands of years. Somebody probably looked at the stars one night in Ancient Athens and said, That group there looks like a hare, doesn’t it? Then they looked to the left and said, And of course that collection of stars is obviously a hunting dog of the Gods, chasing that hare. When you actually look at constellations, it requires quite a stretch of the imagination to see them as depicting what their names suggest. Canis Major could have been anything really, but even in Ancient Greece, people had dogs on their mind, and what else could they imagine a dog doing but enthusiastically chasing a hare across the cosmos? Dogs have so long been our best friend* that I’m not surprised a lot of people conceive of a romantic image for the expression dog days, of good dogs enjoying an afternoon of leisure in the sun, not worrying about having to work in the heat. It is a dog’s life, after all.
Considering our long history of companionship with dogs then, I’ve always been surprised at the existence of the expression It’s a dog-eat-dog world. Why choose dogs? They don’t tend to be wild and engaged in life-or-death struggles for existence. And they only engage in cannibalism in quite extreme circumstances. Perhaps that’s why a lot of people mishear or misunderstand the expression as It’s a doggy-dog world. That’s much less nasty, and much fairer to dogs. I don’t know what exactly a doggy-dog world would look like, but I’d like to live in it. It’d probably be the dog days of summer every day, and with a hare to be chased whenever you felt like it…
*I’m not forgetting our feline fans, but as cats are more solitary, independent creatures, generally, we haven’t idolised them so much in culture, and don’t tend to romanticise our relationship with them (who wants to be called a cat lady?) I’ll also admit that my personal bias may have coloured my writing of this article, because I’ve had dogs from childhood, and am therefore very much a dog person. Though I think I’m naturally that way inclined anyway. I do like cats more than I used to though. That’s mainly due to living with one during my year studying in Edinburgh. And I’m willing to admit that narcissism may have played a part too, as apparently Gorgeous wasn’t too fond of people in general, but seemed to like me, and flattery works very well on me. So while I’ll always prefer dogs, I appreciate cats for being what they are, and may well write something about cat-related expressions at some point.
English-Language Thoughts 
You’ve beautifully expressed your love and admiration for dogs. I loved reading every word of this article. I never imagined anyone could write so well on our best friend – DOG.
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Thank you! I have to think all the dogs I’ve met for inspiring me 😊.
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This was so lovely… I am a cat person so thanks for including me. Besides there is nothing like doggy love (surely the most loyal love that can be). Even though I am a cat lover, I cannot deny this obvious fact! 😀 I also loved the dog-eat-dog bit… so funny!
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I’m glad you can still enjoy it as a cat person 😊. I think I can definitely understand the appeal of cats, even if I don’t feel it. I’m sure it’s very satsfuing when a cat likes you, because you have to earn it! Plus, you can leave a lot of food out and not worry that they’ll eat it all and get sick! When I was young our dog wandered next door, where the little boy gave her 24 dry Weetabix! She slept for about 12 hours and couldn’t eat for 24! 😁
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Poor thing! 😀 Thank you for sharing this touching memory… And you’re right about cat love, perhaps this is what appeals to me! 😉
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Interesting post but I’m here to say, I liked to be called the “cat lady”.
~~dru~~
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Hi! this made me laugh:
I don’t know what exactly a doggy-dog world would look like, but I’d like to live in it. It’d probably be the dog days of summer every day, and with a hare to be chased whenever you felt like it…
Since you do tend to write longer blog posts, I really hope people take time to slow down and read some of the paragraphs, so they can see your humor! There is an old new wave song by Adam Ant, called Dog-Eat-Dog. I love that song. The phrase still doesn’t really make sense…so i like the shortened version of doggy-dog. I much rather live in that world.
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Thanks, I usually start with a simple thought and don’t have a plan for how to end, but I enjoy that journey. I do wonder sometimes if people find them too long, but I don’t think I could keep myself too brief!
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Well, to be honest, I do some times peruse some of the paragraphs. And then something catches my eye, and I go back and reread. Not that I think you should do this, but you may want to try and divide the post into a couple of posts? I was always told by other bloggers, never have more than 300 words. I laugh. But that’s usually something I strive for personally, and am not always successful. That’s why twitter exists. Hahah. It’s so difficult for me in the Twittering challenge! Only 140 characters? OMy!
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Well, I’ve written my post for the challenge now, though I’m afraid I’m cheating slightly by publishing it at my usual 8am GMT time. At least it’ll still be Monday somewhere! I can’t imagine limiting myself to 300 words, apart from an occasional light post. Usually at 300 words I’m just getting into the interesting stuff!
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Hey, no worries – this post is good all week. Monday to Monday! (next Monday, I’ll post a new song title!) – you just want to post relatively early, so when you link / ping – your post reflects and other visitors will hopefully come visit you! (and vice versa) – that’s the idea anyway! I’m sure you’ll do great with you post! There aren’t any rules, don’t worry about how many characters. But your posts are a little longer, so you might want to consider condensing a little. (just a suggestion)
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and depending on when you link it – I might be asleep and will approve once I get on the board. All pings have to be released manually by me. (to avoid SPaM)
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No worries. I actually tried to keep it brief (mainly because I’m tired), and it is shorter than normal, but it’s still a little more than 300 words :).
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Oh, I would love to see your take on something I’m doing, but it may not interest you. However, if you enjoy challenges, I’ve just started my own (released today) where people take the name of a song and use it in their blog post.
I’m really curious to see what you’d do with Manic Monday! That’s the name of the challenge and today’s song. Hope you consider playing! I’m trying to get it off the ground. It’s a weekly challenge – so plenty of time to post and ping. Of course, the sooner the better, so other’s will come read you post! (that’s the idea, plus being FUN!)
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You know, I just might take you up on that! I like getting outside prompts from time to time, and swing where they take me!
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I am endlessly fascinated by phrases and where they come from! So many phrases lead back to Greek, Roman, Shakespeare, the Bible or Alice In Wonderland!
“Dog eat dog” got me thinking — because although wild dogs will eat many things, I don’t think they really eat each other? Interestingly I found this info:
‘The phrase goes back to ancient Rome, where “dog does not eat dog” was a proverb meaning “people who are in the same profession, family, political party, etc., should not harm or fight with each other.”
Source(s):
Oxford English Dictionary
Enter modern civilization and…
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That’s interesting, maybe the modern phrase was brought about by people who wanted to use it to point out how far we’d come from the ideals of the old Roman phrase.
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