What Does “Three Dog Night” Mean?
This phrase describing frigid nighttime temperatures apparently originated with the Chukchi people in eastern Siberia. The Chukchi developed the Siberian Husky, a hardy, energetic breed well suited to the harsh conditions of the Siberian Arctic. Siberian Huskies are most famous as sled pullers, but on winter nights the Chukchi didn’t let their dogs’ cozy warmth go to waste. A cold Siberian night might require two dogs to keep a person warm. And an especially frigid night might take three: That’s a three-dog night.
Of course, the Chukchi are not the only people ever to have noticed that sleeping dogs are toasty warm. Legend has it that the band name “Three Dog Night” was proposed by a friend of the band who read a magazine article about Australian aboriginals and semi-domesticated dingoes who shared the same symbiotic cold-weather arrangement.
Now you know: Dog-snuggling is a time-honored practice that spans the globe. Whether in the Arctic north, in the Australian outback, on your dog’s bed, or in your own, it warms the soul as well as the body. …But maybe you knew that already.
Dogs aren’t the only creatures uncomfortable in oppressive heat, so why does a dog get singled out in dog days? The dog here is actually the Dog Star, which is also called Sirius. The star has long been associated with sultry weather in the northern hemisphere because it rises simultaneously with the sun during the hottest days of summer. In the ancient Greek constellation system, this star (called Seirios in Greek) was considered the hound of the hunter Orion and was given the epithet Kyon, meaning “dog.” The Greek writer Plutarch referred to the hot days of summer as hēmerai kynades (literally, “dog days”), and a Latin translation of this expression as dies caniculares is the source of our English phrase.
OriginThis phrase originated from the belief of early Romans, Greeks or Egyptians that the hot summer days were caused by the Earth’s proximity to the dog star Sirius during the summer months. The Romans referred to the late summer period as dies caniculares, meaning dog star days.
Dog Days of Summer Idiom Meaning
OriginThis phrase originated from the belief of early Romans, Greeks or Egyptians that the hot summer days were caused by the Earth’s proximity to the dog star Sirius during the summer months. The Romans referred to the late summer period as dies caniculares, meaning dog star days.