"Dog" Expressions

Now, the VOA Special English program WORDS AND THEIR STORIES.

Americans use many expressions with the word dog. People in the United States love their dogs and treat them well. They take their dogs for walks, let them play outside and give them good food and medical care. However, dogs without owners to care for them lead a different kind of life. The expression, to lead a dog's life, describes a person who has an unhappy existence.

Some people say we live in a dog-eat-dog world. That means many people are competing for the same things, like good jobs. They say that to be successful, a person has to work like a dog. This means they have to work very, very hard. Such hard work can make people dog-tired. And, the situation would be even worse if they became sick as a dog.

Still, people say every dog has its day. This means that every person enjoys a successful period during his or her life. To be successful, people often have to learn new skills. Yet, some people say that you can never teach an old dog new tricks. They believe that older people do not like to learn new things and will not change the way they do things.

Some people are compared to dogs in bad ways. People who are unkind or uncaring can be described as meaner than a junkyard dog. Junkyard dogs live in places where people throw away things they do not want. Mean dogs are often used to guard this property. They bark or attack people who try to enter the property. However, sometimes a person who appears to be mean and threatening is really not so bad. We say his bark is worse than his bite.

A junkyard is not a fun place for a dog. Many dogs in the United States sleep in safe little houses near their owners' home. These doghouses provide shelter. Yet they can be cold and lonely in the winter.

Husbands and wives use this doghouse term when they are angry at each other. For example, a woman might get angry at her husband for coming home late or forgetting their wedding anniversary. She might tell him that he is in the doghouse. She may not treat him nicely until he apologizes. However, the husband may decide that it is best to leave things alone and not create more problems. He might decide to let sleeping dogs lie.

Dog expressions also are used to describe the weather. The dog days of summer are the hottest days of the year. A rainstorm may cool the weather. But we do not want it to rain too hard. We do not want it to rain cats and dogs.

This VOA Special English program, WORDS AND THEIR STORIES, was written by Jill Moss. I'm Faith Lapidus.

现在是美国之音特别英语词语掌故栏目。

美国人使用的很多短语里面都含有dog，狗这个词。美国人很喜欢狗，对他们的狗非常友好。他们会带狗去散步，让狗在户外玩耍，给他们良好的食物和医疗。然而，没有主人照料的狗就过着完全不同的生活。有一个短语，to lead a dog's life，就是用来描述生活不尽如人意的人。

有人说，我们生活在一个竞争激烈的世界(dog-eat-dog world)。这句话的意思是说，许多人在为同样的事情竞争，比如好的工作机会。他们说，为了成功，人必须work like a dog，意思是说，必须非常非常努力的工作。这么努力的工作会把人弄的筋疲力尽(dog-tired)。然后，如果他们病得非常严重(sick as a dog)，情况会更糟糕。

人们还说every dog has its day。这句话是说，每个人在他或她的生命中都有一段快乐的日子。为了成功，人们必须经常学习新的技能。然而，有人说you can never teach an old dog new tricks，他们相信年长的人不喜欢学习新知识，不会改变他们的思维方式。

有些人的劣性被比作狗。不友好或者冷漠的人会被描述成as meaner than a junkyard dog。Junkyard dogs生活在人们扔废品的地方。吝啬的狗(Mean dogs)经常守护着他的财产。如果有人试图接近他们的财产，他会狂吠或者攻击人。然而，有时候看上去吝啬或者威胁性强的人并不一定很坏。我们会说his bark is worse than his bite。

废品旧货栈(junkyard)对狗来说并不是好玩的地方。在美国，许多狗住在他的主人家附近的安全的小房子里。这些狗屋给他们提供了庇护所。但是在冬天，他们会感到很冷很孤单。

丈夫或妻子在相互生气的时候，会使用狗窝(doghouse)这个短语。比如，一个妻子由于丈夫回家晚了或者忘记结婚周年纪念日而生气，她可能会对他说，他is in the doghouse。直到他道歉她才会回心转意。然而，丈夫可能会决定顺其自然，以免制造出更多问题。他可能决定别惹麻烦(to let sleeping dogs lie)。

包含dog的短语也被用来描述天气。The dog days of summer是一年中最热的天气。一场暴雨可能会使天气凉爽下来。但是我们不想雨下的太大了。我们不希望to rain cats and dogs。

这里是VOA慢速英语词语掌故节目，由Jill Moss编纂，Faith Lapidus播音。