dog in the manger

American  

[dawg in thuh meyn-jer, dog] / ˈdɔg ɪn ðə ˈmeɪn dʒər, ˈdɒg /

noun

1. a person who selfishly keeps something that they do not really need or want so that others may not use or enjoy it.

---

dog in the manger British  

noun

1. 1. a person who prevents others from using something he has no use for

   2. ( as modifier )

      a dog-in-the-manger attitude

---

dog in the manger Cultural  

1. A person who spitefully refuses to let someone else benefit from something for which he or she has no personal use: “We asked our neighbor for the fence posts he had left over, but, like a dog in the manger, he threw them out rather than give them to us.” The phrase comes from one of Aesop's fables, about a dog lying in a manger full of hay. When an ox tries to eat some hay, the dog bites him, despite the fact that the hay is of no use to the dog.

---

dog in the manger Idioms  

1. One who prevents others from enjoying something despite having no use for it. For example, Why be a dog in the manger? If you aren't going to use those tickets, let someone else have them. This expression alludes to Aesop's fable about a snarling dog that prevents horses from eating fodder that is unpalatable to the dog itself. [Mid-1500s]

---

Other Word Forms

• dog-in-the-manger adjective

Etymology

Origin of dog in the manger

First recorded in 1555–65

Example Sentences

It seemed like every time I ran into Gary he said he was about to quit, but he didn’t quit—playing dog in the manger, in my exasperated view.

From The New Yorker • Sep. 2, 2018

Like Aesop's fabled dog in the manger, Tennessee's paunchy, vituperative Senator Kenneth McKellar championed the land and the people; he wanted no improvements without patronage.

From Time Magazine Archive

I very much fear that if we fail to push a broad, vigorous program in this field, we will be accused of following a "dog in the manger" policy.

From Time Magazine Archive

I haven't tried to be a dog in the manger.

From Time Magazine Archive

Had she been content with what her people could occupy, there would have been little trouble, but the "dog in the manger" policy could hardly be recognised by other nations.

From The West Indies and the Spanish Main by Rodway, James