dog in the manger
- a person who selfishly keeps something that he or she does not really need or want so that others may not use or enjoy it.
Origin of dog in the manger
Examples from the Web for dog in the manger
Historical Examples
It is—a dog-in-the-manger business; I did think you were above it.
The Skin Game (Fourth Series Plays)John Galsworthy
Well, at any rate, she had never been anything to him and he was no dog-in-the-manger.
Satan SandersonHallie Erminie Rives
At best he had achieved an impasse, a dog-in-the-manger victory.
Port O' GoldLouis John Stellman
Now look here: it's just foolery to let this Dog-in-the-Manger Company hold the stage any longer.
The Recipe for DiamondsCharles John Cutcliffe Wright Hyne
His was a dog-in-the-manger affection; he did not want her himself, and yet he would allow nobody else to have her.
A Bachelor HusbandRuby M. Ayres
dog in the manger
- a person who prevents others from using something he has no use for
- (as modifier)a dog-in-the-manger attitude
dog in the manger
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.
Idioms and Phrases with dog in the manger
dog in the manger
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]