Sick as a Canine
I’ve had a bad cold the last few days, and it really sucks. I don’t normally get sick (or “fall ill” or seem “under the weather,” depending on your preferred phrase) so I don’t know if I’ve just been a baby or if virii can really make me feel like this particular strain of shit.
The natural choice for the title of this journal entry was “SIck as a Dog,” which just got me thinking about the etymology of the phrase. I did some light Internet research as usual, and in the process discovered that horses can’t puke. Ladies and Gentlenerds, THAT is how to become versed in useless trivia. Well, perhaps not useless if you are an equestrian aficionado or a veterinarian. I found a tolerable etymological answer on World Wide Words, where I’ve found some interesting tidbits before.
There’s also this kid-friendly explanation of the meaning from kidshealth.org: “If you’ve ever been very sick, you may have used this expression. Because dogs eat just about anything they find, they often get sick. So it’s fitting to describe someone who is not feeling well as being “sick as a dog.” Arf!”
That was a fun little piece of journalism. I think I’m going to end this blog with some onomatopoeia related to being sick. Barf!
