dog eat dog
dog eat dog
Characterized by ruthless behavior and competition, as of a society, situation, industry, etc. Hyphenated if used before a noun. It's dog eat dog right now at school because all the top students are competing to be valedictorian. Don't expect this kind of consideration in the real world—it's dog eat dog out there. Just be careful—it's a dog-eat-dog industry, so everyone will only be looking out for themselves.
See also: dog, eat
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
dog eat dog
Ruthless acquisition or competition, as in With shrinking markets, it's dog eat dog for every company in this field. This contradicts a Latin proverb which maintains that dog does not eat dog, first recorded in English in 1543. Nevertheless, by 1732 it was put as "Dogs are hard drove when they eat dogs" (Thomas Fuller, Gnomologia).
See also: dog, eat
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
dog-eat-dog
A dog-eat-dog situation is one in which people are willing to harm each other or to use dishonest methods in order to achieve what they want. Office politics can be a dog-eat-dog world. The TV business today is a dog-eat-dog business.
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.
dog eat dog
a situation of fierce competition in which people are willing to harm each other in order to succeed.This expression makes reference to the proverb dog does not eat dog , which dates back to the mid 16th century in English and before that to Latin canis caninam non est ‘a dog does not eat dog's flesh’.
1998 Rebecca Ray A Certain Age It's dog eat dog, it's every man for himself…Right from the start, fighting amongst ourselves for the few decent wages left.
See also: dog, eat
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
ˌdog eat ˈdog
(informal) fierce competition, with no concern for the harm done or other people’s feelings: In the modern business world, it’s dog eat dog in the search for success.See also: dog, eat
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
dog-eat-dog
mod. cruel; highly competitive. This is a dog-eat-dog world.
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions
dog eat dog
Ruthless competition. Although this saying dates from the sixteenth century, it was at first put very reluctantly, because a much older observation has it that dog does not eat dog (a Latin proverb). Thus Thomas Fuller (Gnomologia, 1732) pointed out that “dogs are hard drove, when they eat dogs.” The transfer to human affairs had it otherwise, however. “Dog won’t eat dog, but men will eat each other up like cannibals,” wrote C. H. Spurgeon (John Ploughman, 1869).
See also: dog, eat
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
- dog-eat-dog
- a dog-eat-dog world
- dog around
- play hide the hot dog
- hunt
- my dawg
- my dog
- my dogg
- sick as a dog
- (as) sick as a dog