Why do we say it?
“Gone to the Dogs.” Not a grej'beard in all the world but thinks—or says frequently' and bitterly—that everything has “gone to the dogs” since his young days. Of course, in his young days he went to the dogs a bit himself if his grandfather was to be believed. The younger generation now “goes to the dogs” in a more literal sertse; but the grandfather is not thinking of greyhound racing. ‘ _ The saying is a very old gambler's expression. Tn that connection “gone to the dogs” means ruined, lost' or as the American troops said “skint.” The Romans gambled with dice of which the ace was known as canis, a dog. The absolute losing throw was three aces. Hence, one’s money had “gone to the dogs’’ when one made such a cast. In our own days, when we use the phrase of a man, a country, or an estate, we mean that it is going from bad to worse, as an inveterate gambler goes—at least, according to story books.
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https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/ST19300524.2.70
Bibliographic details
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Southland Times, Issue 21091, 24 May 1930, Page 8
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173Why do we say it? Southland Times, Issue 21091, 24 May 1930, Page 8
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