What is a dog when it's not a dog?

Answer 1

Well, there are several things. Male dogs are called "Dogs", so if your dog is a female dog, it will not be a Dog.

It may be that someone is using slang for a good friend by calling someone "dog". Then a dog would be a person who is a friend.

It may be someone using slang for a person they don't like by calling them a dirty rotten dog.

Then there are all the other possibilities: it could be a child's toy dog, it could be a person in a dog costume, it could be a wolf or coyote (they look like dogs), it could be an alien cloaked as a dog, it could be a statue of a dog mistaken for a dog from a distance, it could be a ghost dog, it could be that someone with dyslexia meant to say god, according to folklore it could be a witch, demon, or an angel . . .

Dogs are slang for feet, sea dogs are sailors, fire dogs hold logs in fireplaces, sun dogs are bright spots in the sky caused by ice crystals.

Then you can dog a door when you shut and lock it, dog a criminal when you follow him and even substitute a dog for a deity when you consider the case of the dyslexic agnostic insomniac who stayed awake all night pondering the existence of Dog.

In Scotland, using the vernacular a dog is called a dug. This opens up a whole new ball game, such as your name is Douglas or Dug. Have you ever seen a green dug? Yes, I turned my lawn into a vegetable garden. The possibilities are endless.

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A hot lunch.

Coney Dog.

Usually it's a Puppy.

Hush puppies (if they are young enough dogs and don't bark too much).

What is a dog when it's not a dog? It's a dog gone shame!

__________

Prairie dog?

Hot dog?

__________

The teeth on cog wheels can also be called dogs.

See the related questions "Is a dog a dog?" and "Is my dog a dog?" for more information on these interesting questions.