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dog it

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dog it

1. To be lazy; to loaf or shirk duty; to fail to put forth the effort necessary to achieve or accomplish something. Jim became totally disheartened after losing his job and has been dogging it around the house for the past month. I hate my job, so I just dog it in the office until it's time to go home. I once had dreams of going to med school, but I dogged it during my last two years in college and can't get in anywhere now.

2. To renege on, back out of, hastily leave, or flee from something. I'm afraid the company dogged it from the deal at the last minute. We dogged it out of there once we heard the sirens blaring.

See also: dog

dog it

1. Do less than is required; loaf or shirk. For example, I'm afraid our donors are dogging it this year. This expression originated in sports and soon was transferred to other endeavors. [Slang; c. 1900]

2. Move slowly, as in We just dogged it along from California to Oregon.

3. Run away, as in Let's dog it out of here right now. This usage originated in American underworld slang in the 1920s, where it meant "to back down in cowardly fashion," and acquired its present sense about 1930.

4. Same as put on the dog.

See also: dog

dog it

Slang

To fail to expend the effort needed to do or accomplish something.

See also: dog