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

Operagoers no longer will stand for three-ton tanks in the roles of innocent 15-year-old girls, or singers who stand in front of the prompter's box and do their daily dozen.

From Time Magazine Archive

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

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

He gets $1,500 yearly for devising the "daily dozen" phonograph records; the money educates two girls.

From Time Magazine Archive

He dresses with as much care as Hugh Walpole; but by a regular adherence to the rules of the daily dozen, his weight has remained that of a young man of grace and poise.

From Time Magazine Archive