Where did the phrase putting on the dog come from? Here’s What to Do Next

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This was American college slang of the 1860’s. Whether or not it originated at Yale, it was so credited by Lyman H. Bagg who, in his Four Years at Yale (1871), wrote: “Dog, style, splurge. To put on dog is to make a flashy display, to cut a swell”, and the latter expression in the definition could be defined, “to appear important.”

But it was then that the Blenheim and the King Charles spaniels were at the height of aristocratic popularity. Nothing could appear snootier, more high-toned than those dogs.

The source of college slang even of today can be little more than guesswork, and to go back eighty-five years is necessarily conjectural.

Put on (the) dog dates back to American college slang of the 1860s and is recorded in Lyman H. Baggs Four Years at Yale : “Dog, style, splurge. To put on dog is to make a flashy display, to cut a swell.” At about the same time, the related adjective doggy was a popular slang term meaning attractively stylish; costly; fancy.

How to Use it in a Sentence

There are several sentences that can be used to illustrate the use of the idiom put on the dog. A few examples of sentences that include this figure or speech are as follows:

  • We always have to put on the dog when my in-laws come for dinner.
  • Jack really put on the dog when he got all dressed up in his best and slicked back his hair before his date.
  • The boss put on the dog when he was trying to attract new customers to the store.
  • Despite the fact that he really put on the dog, I wasn’t impressed.
  • I guess I could have put on the dog a little bit more to get the job, but I guess I really didn’t want to work there, so it’s no big deal.
  • Why do you always have to put on the dog when Sandy comes over? It’s so annoying!
  • There’s no reason to put on the dog; just be yourself and they’ll like you for who you are!
  • Politicians always put on the dog when they’re up for reelection, but they drop the show once they’re elected and show who they really are and what their objectives are.

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