Where Did ‘Sick As A Dog’ Come From?

October 6, 2010 by Nicole · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Mom Blogs

In Keeping With
the subject of learning,
(a.k.a.- since I just learned why some guys are called ‘Trip’…
See Post Below)
today I am venturing into a common saying.
We’ve all said, “I’m sick as a dog.”
Where did that come from?
And why do dogs, who are ‘man’s best friend’ get such a bad rap?
You may be ‘dog tired’. Such n’ Such is ‘going to the dogs’. There are ‘Dogs of war,’ and there is the phrase- ‘hair of the dog that bit you.’
There are the ‘Dog days of summer’… This one is not however, especially negative, as it referred originally to the ascendancy of Sirius, the ‘Dog Star,’ during the hottest days of summer… interesting.

So again, Why do people say,

I’m Sick as a Dog?

Anyone, Anyone?

‘Sick as a dog,’ which means “extremely sick” dates back to at least the 17th century.
It is not so much negative, as it is simply descriptive.
Anyone who knows dogs knows that while they can and often will eat absolutely anything, on those occasions when their diet disagrees with them the results can be quite dramatic.
And while Americans may consider themselves ‘sick’ when they have a bad cold, in Britain that would be called ‘feeling ill.’ ‘Being sick’ in Britain usually means ‘to vomit.’

So there you go!

Bueller… Bueller?