Dog In A Manger Meaning & Sentence Examples

Dog In A Manger Definition, Sentence Examples

DOG IN A MANGER MEANING – Find out what a dog in a manger really means. Example sentences of this idiomatic expression can also be found here.

The idiom “a dog in a manger” was first used in William Bullein’s A Dialogue Against The Feuer Pestilence, published in 1564. Even today, the phrase is used to describe any churlish or “spoilsport” behavior.

This phrase is derived from a story by Aesop, who may have been Ethiopian but spent most of his life in Athens. Since Aesop’s fables were initially passed down from one generation to the next like myths or legends, it is unknown with certainty when the first of them was written. However, it is thought that Aesop lived between 620 and 560 B.C. Fables are brief stories that serve as an example of a certain moral and instruct young readers.

Meaning:

one who, despite having no use for it, hinders others from enjoying something
bitter and vindictive
someone who holds onto something they don’t want so that someone else can’t obtain it
a selfish person who hoards what they don’t actually need or want in order to prevent others from using or enjoying it

Here are examples of sentences that use dog in a manger:

If you don’t know how to ride a bicycle, why don’t you give the bicycle to me? don’t be a dog in the manger.
Don’t be a dog in the manger, lend your motorcycle to him since you will not go out this afternoon.
My aunt Cecil is a dog in the manger about her swimming pool. She never uses it but won’t let any of the family use it either.

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