three-dog night

three-dog night

old-fashioned A bitterly cold night (i.e., so cold that one would need their dogs in bed with them to stay warm). Temperatures fell well below freezing, a true three-dog night.
See also: night
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

three dog night

A very cold night. Back in pre-central heating days, on nights when a thick quilt wasn't available or didn't provide enough heat, rural dwellers might take a dog into bed to provide additional warmth. Chilly weather called for one dog, even colder for two, but when it was cold enough to freeze a brass monkey, you'd make room for three dogs.
See also: dog, night, three
Endangered Phrases by Steven D. Price
See also:
  • three dog night
  • dead of night
  • the dead of night
  • night night
  • I was up all night with a sick friend
  • at night
  • day and night
  • a night on the tiles
  • tile
  • have a gas
References in periodicals archive
In the spirit of this season of three-dog nights, the Bureau of Indications brings you all the medical news that's fit to bark at.
Indications
Written by experienced humorist and speaker Lowell Streiker, and illustrated throughout with whimsical black-and-white cartoons by Ron Rush, Hoofbeats, Hair Balls, and Three-Dog Nights is a collection of short, touching, sometimes funny, sometimes sad vignettes of beloved pets and the unconditional love they provide to their owners.
Hoofbeats, Hair Balls, and Three-Dog Nights