put on the dog
put on the dog (idiom)
/ˌpʊt ɒn ðə dɔːɡ/
Meanings
- To show off in a flashy or fancy way.
- To dress up elegantly, often more than needed.
- To try to impress others with wealth, fashion, or style.
Synonyms: show off; flaunt; boast; parade; exaggerate; overdo; grandstand.
Example Sentences
- At the wedding, he really put on the dog with his new tuxedo and gold watch.
- She put on the dog when her old classmates came to town, wearing her most expensive dress.
- They always put on the dog during the annual gala, hiring limos and arriving in style.
Origin and History
The balance of evidence points to the mid-19th century United States as the birthplace of the phrase “put on the dog.” It first carried the sense of making a showy or ostentatious display.
Earliest Printed Instance
The earliest clearly viewable printed example appears in Lyman Hotchkiss Bagg’s Four Years at Yale (1871). In the slang glossary of the book, the entry reads:
“Dog, style, splurge. To put on dog, is to make a flashy display, to cut a swell.”
This confirms that “put on the dog” was already in circulation as student slang by that time.
Earlier Record Hints
While Bagg’s 1871 glossary is the first fully verifiable source, earlier documentation points to an 1865 usage. Some historical language records file an example from that year, suggesting the phrase had already circulated in speech or print before appearing in the Yale glossary. However, without direct access to the 1865 text, Bagg’s record remains the earliest quotation we can confirm.
Country of Origin
All available evidence points to the United States as the birthplace of “put on the dog.” Its first recorded use is firmly tied to American college slang, and early citations overwhelmingly come from American sources.
Competing Theories
Several theories attempt to explain why “dog” came to mean ostentation and why the phrase is formed as “put on the dog.”
- The college-slang theory holds that the phrase arose as part of American undergraduate speech, meaning to “cut a swell.”
- The lapdog fashion theory suggests the phrase alludes to fashionable women and men parading lapdogs as a sign of high status after the Civil War.
- The slang extension theory notes that “dog” was used in nineteenth-century slang to mean “style” or “splurge,” so “put on dog” could naturally mean “assume style.”
- Other folk explanations, such as dog-skin shoes or dog collars, lack documentary evidence and are less credible.
Strongest Explanation
The best-supported view combines the college slang origin with the lapdog/fashion image. The 1871 Yale citation demonstrates the phrase in real student use, while cultural associations with lapdogs as symbols of fashion help explain why the slang resonated. Folk explanations, by contrast, remain speculative and unsupported.
Development of the Phrase
In its early years, the idiom appeared both as “put on dog” and “put on the dog.” By the early twentieth century, it had spread beyond American campuses into wider American colloquial English, meaning to dress or act ostentatiously. Eventually, the phrase also crossed into British English, but its roots are firmly American.
Origin Summary
In summary, “put on the dog” is an American slang expression originating in the mid-19th century. The most convincing explanation is that it began as college slang referring to ostentatious display, later reinforced by cultural images of fashionable dog owners.
Variants
- put on airs
- dress to the nines
- put on the ritz
- show off
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