{"id":1224,"date":"2022-01-20T21:00:23","date_gmt":"2022-01-20T21:00:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/?p=1224"},"modified":"2022-01-20T21:00:23","modified_gmt":"2022-01-20T21:00:23","slug":"going-to-the-dogs-meaning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/going-to-the-dogs-meaning\/","title":{"rendered":"Going to the Dogs - Meaning, Origin and Usage"},"content":{"rendered":"

Did a friend arrive at your house in a flurry of disgust? As you ask them what is wrong, they tell you that your neighborhood is \"going to the dogs<\/em>.\" What are they talking about? Do they mean that there are packs of wild dogs roaming the streets?<\/p>\n

This post unpacks everything you need to know about this idiomatic expression's origin, meaning, and use.<\/p>\n

Going to the Dogs Meaning<\/h2>\n

If someone tells you that your neighborhood is \"going to the dogs<\/em>,\" they mean that the social conditions around the area are declining. For instance, there could be homeless encampments or open-air drug markets in the area. Or, there could be trash everywhere and little sign of basic services.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Typically, the phrase means to become worse in character or quality when referring to people. It could also refer to someone, like a salesperson, who lets their figures slip, resulting in poorer performance than they had in the past.<\/p>\n

The phrase can also refer to a decline in health, as in \"my health is going to the dogs<\/em>.\" Or it could refer to the ruin of physical attributes, such as your looks.<\/p>\n

Going to the Dogs Example Usage<\/h2>\n

\"have you walked around the neighborhood lately? It's really going to the dogs <\/em>with all the homelessness and the tent cities popping up everywhere.\"<\/p>\n

\"Did you hear that El Salvador is using Bitcoin for legal tender? That country\u2019s financial system is going to the dogs<\/em>, and they want crypto to save it.\"<\/p>\n

\"The car was great for the first few months, but now the engine is going to the dogs<\/em>; I should have checked the service record before buying it.\"<\/p>\n

\"Did you see that influencer's audience collapse after she admitted to lying? Man, her career is really going to the dogs<\/em>.\"<\/p>\n

\"\" \"\"<\/p>\n

Going to the Dogs Origin<\/h2>\n

The origin of \"going to the dogs<\/em>\" traces back to as far as the 1500s. The original use of the phrase was to describe old or stale food not suitable for human consumption. As a result, the owner would throw the stale food to their dog for nourishment.<\/p>\n

Dogs are not very fussy eaters, and most breeds don't have a problem eating old food and leftovers. In the 1500s, there was no such thing as \"dog food<\/em>,\" and the owner would toss their table scraps to their dogs for sustenance.<\/p>\n

Over the centuries, the phrase would evolve to include any person or thing devolving into a poor state of well-being or ruin. For instance, you could use the term to describe a decaying city or a person experiencing a deterioration in their health.<\/p>\n