dog's life
English edit
Pronunciation edit
Audio (AU) (file)
Noun edit
dog's life (plural dogs' lives)
- (idiomatic) A miserable, wretched existence.
- (idiomatic) A life of indolence where the individual may do as he or she pleases, just like a pampered dog.
Usage notes edit
Originally the term referred to the hard life of the working dog: sleeping in a damp barn, chasing rats and other intruders, living on scraps, etc. Today, however, it has in some circles acquired the completely opposite connotation indicated in sense 2.
Translations edit
miserable life
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pampered life
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked
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Further reading edit
- Michael Quinion (January 30, 1999), “It's a dog's life”, in World Wide Words.