go to the dogs

Idioms are generally defined as groups of words that form a meaningful whole when they come together, even though the words in them do not make sense on their own. They have produced many idioms according to their own cultural characteristics in communities using the English language. What does go to the dogs mean? In what situations is go to the dogs used?

Meaning of "go to the dogs"

Meaning

The phrase ‘go to the dogs’ is an idiom used to refer to the decline or deterioration of something or someone, typically due to a lack of care or attention. In most cases, the phrase is used to describe the gradual decline in the quality of something over time, but it can also be used in context to refer to the sudden and dramatic fall of an entity. It can be used to refer to physical items, such as a car or house, or to an abstract concept, such as an organization or economy.

Etymology

The phrase ‘go to the dogs’ has its origins in the ancient Greek play by Euripides ‘Cyclops’. In the play, the main character refers to the decline of his fortunes and his home as ‘going to the dogs’. This phrase has since been adopted and is frequently used as a metaphor for decline or deterioration.

Usage

The phrase ‘go to the dogs’ is a fairly common idiom and is often used in everyday conversations. It can be used in both positive and negative contexts, with the overall sentiment of expressing decline or deterioration. For example, the phrase ‘the economy has gone to the dogs’ is commonly used to refer to the decline of an economy, while ‘the team went to the dogs after the manager left’ is a phrase used to describe the decline in the quality of a team.

Example Sentences

• “The once thriving company has gone to the dogs since the new management took over.”
• “My car has gone to the dogs since I stopped maintaining it.”
• “The neighbourhood went to the dogs after they built the freeway.”
• “The team went to the dogs after the manager left.”

From One Language to Another: Idioms in Translation

Translating idioms from one language to another can be a tricky task, as the cultural context behind an idiom can be difficult to capture. For example, the French phrase "avoir le cafard" translates to "to have the cockroach," which means to feel down or depressed. Similarly, the Chinese idiom "????" (j?ng d? zh? w?) translates to "frog at the bottom of a well," which refers to someone with a narrow view of the world.