daily dozen

American  

noun

Informal.

1. a set of calisthenic exercises to be done each day, originally a set of 12 or more such exercises.

---

daily dozen Idioms  

1. Physical exercise, as in Helen walks two miles every morning—that's her daily dozen. This term originally referred to a set of twelve specific calisthenic exercises to be performed every day. They were devised by a famous Yale University football coach, Walter Camp (1859–1925), and came into general use in the early 1900s. Despite the physical fitness craze of the late 1900s, these exercises and their name are no longer taken literally, but the term survives in a very general way.

---

Etymology

Origin of daily dozen

An Americanism dating back to 1915–20

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

daily dozen

He had developed the famous "daily dozen," spread by phonograph and radio.

From Time Magazine Archive

In a daily dozen ways, Labor Secretary Goldberg, 53, last week was speaking in the name of President John F. Kennedy on matters of deepest concern to the nation's 72.2 million-man labor force.

From Time Magazine Archive

In the morning an automatic timing device turns on the radio and wakes the Caldwells up to do their daily dozen; in the evening it turns the receiver off after they have gone to bed.

From Time Magazine Archive

Altman stores up energy by gobbling yogurt, Burnett is a yogist, and Bacall goes through a daily dozen of what she calls "lying down" exercises.

From Time Magazine Archive

Bernarr McFadden preached the "daily dozen" exercise system twelve years before Walter Camp got fame thereby.

From Time Magazine Archive