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dog in the manger
[dawg in thuh meyn-jer, dog]
noun
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
noun
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.
Other 51Թ Forms
- dog-in-the-manger adjective
51Թ History and Origins
Origin of dog in the manger1
Idioms and Phrases
Example Sentences
He is not deluded or proud or murderous, just a dog in the manger, a grim Taliban-like puritan who has banned laughter.
The crusaders had their already somewhat familiar backlashes against this 16-year-old climate activist all ready to go, and then this absolute dog in the manger goes and ruins it for them.
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.
A muzzled dog’s paw rests on his master’s foot, like a proverbial dog in the manger whose potential for interference has been thwarted.
Don't think I'm a dog in the manger.
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