‘Dogs are man’s best friend!’ is an expression used all over the world by dog lovers. One of my students who has been raised having dogs by his side, even had a pretty large triangular tattoo put on his arm which had three of their initials including deceased ones. Clearly, he is a dog lover!
According to my research the first person to coin the phrase was King Frederick II of Prussia before his death in 1786. It is he who said, “the only, absolute and best friend a man has, in this selfish world, the only one that will not betray or deny him, is his dog”. We have all heard the phrase “a dog is man's best friend'.
Though that may be, for some, dogs are nice to have around, but contrary to absolute obsession for those who take care of them, it leads to some owners getting frustrated from dealing with dog mood swings.
Take my two little terrors. I’m up first, so have the duty to change their newspaper as a place to relinquish themselves in the kitchen. Normally they will do their business on it. However, on occasion their dregs overshoot the paper, i.e., end up over the edge. It needs cleaning up, but that is usual because it happens regularly and by accident, or they are encountering difficulty to poo. So, they go on the move releasing their aim off the designated area.
What makes my blood boil is when they deliberately wee away from the paper, especially if the paper has just been changed, and they do it in the kitchen by the side between the sink and microwave. One of them seems to do it sporadically every week which catches me by surprise when I hear a sludgy wet sensation on one of my flip-flops.
Why one of them does it is rather strange as there is no real reason for it. However, dogs can be stroppy. Like humans they have their moods. Another example is that it sometimes happens after feeding them. They come into my office and wee under my desk. My wife likes to say they love me, and are showing their affection; gratitude for me looking after them. It is definately a strange way of showing it!
There is nothing worse than being caught out. It’s like they do it to piss me off. Excuse my French! If they have pooed off target and I step on it, my wife congratulates me and says that's a good omen to make a lot of money. Show me the money, baby!
Have a great day!
Prof. Carl Boniface
Vocabulary builder:
Relinquish (v) = abandon, surrender, renounce, resign, give up, hand over, (ant) retain
Overshoot (v) = pass, exceed, overrun, miss, overreach, overpass, overextend, go beyond, go past, (ant) make, hit
Dregs (n) = remains, residues, sediments, deposits, wastes
Edge (n) = can be used as the perimeter, circumference, rim, lip, side, verge, bank border, frame. “Her keys were thrown out of the window onto the edge of the ledge (windowsill) and were almost lost outside.” Or it can be used in terms of advantage, superiority, control, authority, power. “He ran so fast he had the edge of the other runners.”
Sludgy (adj) = as in muddy, full of or covered with soft wet earth, a sludgy riverbed. muddy. Imagine running through a river and then onto the road, and how that damp sludgy sensation would feel on your feet.
Stroppy (adj) = (English informal) bad-tempered and argumentative.
Piss off (phrasal verb of piss) = go away (used to angrily dismiss someone). In the dictionary it says British vulgar slang, however, depending on your intonation and delivery it could be used sarcastically as a joke i.e., Your friend is telling you a completely unbelievable story although he says it really happened, and you haven’t got time to listen because you have something important to do. So, to cut him short, you might say in a deep throaty voice, “Oh, piss off mate, you must be having a laugh!” To piss me off is to upset me.
Excuse my French (idiom) = or pardon my French used to apologize for swearing.
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