The expression 'dog in a manger' comes from a fable of the same name written by Aesop, who was possibly Ethiopian but spent much of his life in Athens. It is not known exactly when the first of Aesop's fables were written as the fables were originally handed down from one generation to the next just like a myth or a legend. It is, however, believed that Aesop lived from about 620 to 560 B.C.
Fables are short stories which illustrate a particular moral and teach a lesson to children. The theme and characters appeal to children and the stories are often humorous and entertaining. Fables can also be described as tales or yarns which have a message in their narrative such as a parable might have. Fables can often pass into our culture as myths and legends. This particular fable goes something like this:
A Dog looking out for its afternoon nap jumped into the manger of an ox and lay there cosily upon the straw. But soon the ox, returning fom its afternoon work, came up to the manger and wanted to eat some of the straw. The dog, angry at being awakened from its slumber, stood up and barked at the Ox, and whenever it came near attempted to bite it. At last the Ox had to give up the hope of getting at the straw, and went away hungry.
The expression means that people often begrudge others what they cannot enjoy themselves.
A 'dog in a manger' is a term often used towards someone who spoils enjoyment for others but gets no advantage themselves. Imagine a dog sitting in a manger preventing the horse from eating the hay. The dog cannot eat the hay itself but is resentlful of the horse enjoying its meal so it lays in the manger to spite the horse. These 'dogs' are usually jealous bitter people.
There isn't an idiom "dog's tail." There are several idioms about dogs and tails, but I'm not sure which one you're thinking of.
The duration of The Dog in the Manger - film - is 1.73 hours.
The Dog in the Manger - film - was created on 1996-11-27.
The cast of A Dog in the Manger - 1917 includes: Charles Hoyt
A Dog in the Manger - 1917 was released on: USA: 6 August 1917
It means that she is crazy- mad like a dog.
In trouble. The image is of your spouse kicking you out of the house and you have to spend the night with the dog.
This is not an idiom - when you see the words LIKE or AS, you're dealing with a comparison - a metaphor. This is comparing someone to a hound dog tracking a scent.
It means you are very happy.When a dog is happy, it wags its tail.A dog with 2 tails wagging would be very happy.
he is a real dog in the manger ,even though he does not have a car he would not let anyone else use his garage :0)
A "dog-in-the-manger" attitude refers to someone who selfishly prevents others from enjoying or using something that they themselves have no use for or interest in. This metaphor originates from the fable where a dog, though not eating the hay in the manger, prevents the cow from eating it as well.