bottom dog
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of bottom dog
First recorded in 1880–85; by analogy with top dog
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The proposal is, however, a proposal to ameliorate the bottom dog, and the human bottom dog is poorly represented in the great inquest of the nation.
From Project Gutenberg
I’m keeping my eyes open, but you mustn’t be too zealous in our Service, Prior, or you’re bound to come out bottom dog.
From Project Gutenberg
You’ve got the bulge on me, and I’m the bottom dog this time.
From Project Gutenberg
It pleased her to think that she was patting the bottom dog's head.
From Project Gutenberg
"I think that you are most astonishingly clumsy," said the small maiden, scrambling up with an offended190 air, and not even saying "Thank you" to Billykins for having been bottom dog for the moment.
From Project Gutenberg
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
