Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun One who prevents others from enjoying what one has no use for oneself.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun One who denies others what he cannot use himself.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun someone who prevents you from enjoying something that they themselves have no need for
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
[From a fable in which a dog prevented an ox from eating hay he did not want himself.]
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
From a fable about a dog preventing other animals from eating the hay in a manger, even though as a carnivore he could not eat it himself.
Support
Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word dog in the manger.
Examples
Sorry, no example sentences found.
amacleod03 commented on the word dog in the manger
One who selfishly hoards something that he or she does not personally need or use.
The Oxford English Dictionary specifically names such a person as “churlish�? and says it's been in use since the 16th century. This reference plays on the stereotype of dogs being selfish, which is as prominent as the one of their being selfless. The phrase comes from one of Æsop's fables. “A dog lay in a manger, and by his growling and snapping prevented the oxen from eating the hay which had been placed for them. ‘What a selfish dog!’ said one of them to his companions, ‘He cannot eat the hay himself, and yet refuses to allow those to eat who can.’�?
July 27, 2009
ruzuzu commented on the word dog in the manger
Thanks for pointing us here, qms. I think I prefer the dog in a manger version--but only because it's easier to anagram (dingo manager, ignore mad nag, etc.)
September 29, 2014
qms commented on the word dog in the manger
My pleasure, ruzuzu. I had prepared what I thought was an elegant explanation of the idiom for the "a manger" page then thought to check out the "the manger" page and had to settle for a pointer. I was looking, and am looking still, for a list of dog-related terms: dogged, dog-tired, dog-eared, to hound, etc. My first couple of stabs were not fruitful. Any leads, or am I going to have to do the work myself?
September 29, 2014
ruzuzu commented on the word dog in the manger
That's the thing about this site, isn't it? We've all found that every potential list is an existing list, but often it's necessary to create a new one anyway. Just because.
September 30, 2014