dog tired

dog tired

Meanings:
– very tired, exhausted
– extremely weary, totally drained.

Examples:
1. Carl usually got home at around 5 o'clock, dog tired after overtime on the job.
2. Miranda was dog tired after the series. She played every game.
3. Now, I am totally dog tired after the 3 days of journey.

Origin:
Dog tired is an old English idiom usually hyphenated to dog-tired. An adjectival phrase meaning to be physically exhausted, it derives from an old tale of Alfred the Great who used to send his sons out with his widespread kennels of hunting dogs. Whichever of his sons, be it Athelbrod or Edwin, were able to catch more of the hounds would gain their father's right hand side at the dinner table that evening. These chases would leave them ‘dog-tired' yet merry at their victory. The tradition was continued for a few generations but is not noted in literature after Bede's Ecclesiastical History of the English People.