BS: looking for an old saying

Subject: BS: looking for an old saying
From: GUEST,Keith Lucas
Date: 27 Jul 12 - 07:12 PM

My girlfriend thought she was sticking up for me when an arguement between my grandson and myself took place, when she sent him a text my grandsons mother (my daughter) got mad and told my girlfriend "your dogs not in this fight", my girlfriend I believe mistook this to mean my daughter was calling her a dog or a bitch, which I don't believe to be accurate, can anyone please help me by telling me what that saying means? I hear it's a really old saying that I understood means for someone to mind their own business, again I ask to please help it's causing quite a problem which I think is ridiculous. Thank You

Subject: RE: BS: looking for an old saying
From: Jeri
Date: 27 Jul 12 - 07:22 PM

You're right.

Literally, it means you have no dog in the fight; you have no part in it.
Basically, it's saying it's not your business, in what sounds to me to be a (slightly) more polite way.

Subject: RE: BS: looking for an old saying
From: GUEST,999
Date: 27 Jul 12 - 07:24 PM

"I've got no dog in this fight" means I have no stake in the fight's outcome.

From the www:

NO DOG IN THAT HUNT and variants.

"This is an idiom that expresses the level of concern for a situation. The idiom is commonly heard in the negative as in, when confronted by a situation, you express anopinion but then follow it up with "but I ain't go no dog in this hunt", meaning that although you have an opinion you don't have anything to lose or gain so you can accept whichever outcome.
It comes from the hunting culture, probably in the mid or deep south where everyone would show up for a bird hunt with their dogs. Dogs were retrievers for their masters and would bring back the shot game to their masters. Of course if you didn't have a dog in the hunt you wouldn't get any game. It could also refer to a larger game hunt such as a fox hunt or bear hunt where the stakes were a little higher. In this situation your dog could be harmed by the game and your level of concern would go up because a good hunting dog was really valuable. Remember the old joke: Man tells his friends: "My wife got mad at me for staying out late hunting again. She told me it was either my wife or Sam, my huntin' dog. I surely am gonna miss that old gal."
This is actually an amalgamation of two separate expressions, "that dog won't hunt" and "i have no dog in this fight".
"That dog won't hunt" means what you're attempting to do will be met with failure, as in "no matter how many times you run the race, that dog won't hunt". The origin of that phrase does originate in southern hunting culture. It relates to coon dogs that don't have a good sense of smell, thus not being a good hunting dog.
"No dog in the fight" means you have no concern for the outcome of a given situation. An example would be, "I'm a Braves fan. Red Sox-Yankees... I got no dog in that fight". This phrase has origins in the dog fighting culture."

Subject: RE: BS: looking for an old saying
From: YorkshireYankee
Date: 27 Jul 12 - 11:05 PM

Good luck to you, Keith... sounds like you may need it!

Subject: RE: BS: looking for an old saying
From: meself
Date: 28 Jul 12 - 12:45 AM

I wonder if you might want to inform your girlfriend that you can stick up for yourself? Just a thought - I don't have a dog in this fight ....

Subject: RE: BS: looking for an old saying
From: GUEST,Eliza
Date: 28 Jul 12 - 05:20 AM

I don't think the saying is about hunting dogs. It's about dog-fights, which are illegal now, but used to take place in Olde Englande (and still do clandestinely, sadly) Two or more dogs, poor things, were set upon eachother. The one left standing won. Betting was keen and quite a bit of money could change hands. To say "Your dog's not in this fight" meant literally he wasn't in that particular fray. But it implies that 'It's none of your business'.

Subject: RE: BS: looking for an old saying
From: GUEST
Date: 28 Jul 12 - 08:09 AM

Animal cruelty is everyones business.

Subject: RE: BS: looking for an old saying
From: Jeri
Date: 28 Jul 12 - 08:25 AM

999 explained much clearer than I did or anyone else has. It's NOT simply "it's none of your business". It's saying that the person without the "dog in the fight" doesn't stand to gain or lose depending on the outcome. In this case, I think your daughter was telling your girlfriend that it would be you and/or your son who would be hurt by the fight, not her.

Subject: RE: BS: looking for an old saying
From: Megan L
Date: 28 Jul 12 - 09:53 AM

damned if she does damned if she doesnt

Subject: BS: looking for the meaning of an old saying
From: GUEST,Keith Lucas
Date: 28 Jul 12 - 11:00 AM

I asked this question yesterday but no one replied? Maybe I went into to much detail sorry if I did, I just want to know what the saying means when someone tells you, "your dogs not in this fight" Pleas help this is very important to me. Thank You

Subject: RE: BS: looking for an old saying
From: Jeri
Date: 28 Jul 12 - 11:19 AM

Transferred into the older thread.
Keith, you got quite a few replies.

Subject: RE: BS: looking for an old saying
From: GUEST,999
Date: 28 Jul 12 - 12:26 PM

Your dog is not in this fight is a long-winded way to say "Sssshhhhh!"

Subject: RE: BS: looking for an old saying
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 28 Jul 12 - 12:37 PM

I suppose if it had been "Don't get your knickers in a twist about this" she'd have thought that was some kind of comment on her underwear...

Subject: RE: BS: looking for an old saying
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 28 Jul 12 - 03:13 PM

Keith, it's an old-fashioned country saying. Sometimes a person says "I don't have a dog in this fight,' and sometimes they say, "I don't have a dog in this hunt."

Both versions mean that the person has nothing at stake in the debate. They don't stand to lose anything real such as money or property or anything like that.

Your daughter just changed it a bit by saying "Your dog's not in this fight," meaning that that your girlfriend had nothing of her own at stake in the argument between you and your grandson.

Subject: RE: BS: looking for an old saying
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 28 Jul 12 - 04:35 PM

If she'd misunderstood to think your mum was calling you a dog, Keith, I suppose that might have made some kind of sense...

Subject: RE: BS: looking for an old saying
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 28 Jul 12 - 06:07 PM

Translations (simply put):

"BUTT OUT"

"MYOB" (Mind Your Own Business)

"NOYB" (None Of Your Business)

(politely put)

"Your comments are not welcome in this discussion."

NOTHING MORE.

John

Subject: RE: BS: looking for an old saying
From: GUEST
Date: 29 Jul 12 - 09:29 AM

Keith,
Thank all of you so much for helping me resolve this issue, it will be a first for me that I was actually able to find an answer and be right for a change, because my girlfriend persist that my daughter was calling her a dog an now she's saying she's my bitch, which as you have all explained to me is not the case at all, and my hunch was right it basically means none of your business, I have told her I can stick up for myself, but for some reason she thinks she has to be protective of me, I also have another daughter that does the same thing, thinks she has to defend me all the time, I appreciate both their concerns, but for goodness sake, I'm 61 and I think I know a little more then they both do, thank all of you again, Peace to you all :)

Subject: RE: BS: looking for an old saying
From: GUEST,charlie
Date: 20 Nov 13 - 05:01 PM

My relatives in the the red clay country of central Georgia use this expression.

It does not mean "mind your own business". It means you, the speaker, are a disinterested party.

For example, say that two people are arguing a point about which you have an insight, or a fact to add. So as not to take sides you say: I don't have a dog the fight, but...blah, blah, blah.

So in this case, in my opinion, the female in question was mis-using the expression. She was likely indicating butt out, but I have never heard the expression used in that way by my folks in Georgia and South Carolina. Btw, my male cousins were avid coon hunters who owned packs of "coon dogs".

Subject: RE: BS: looking for an old saying
From: kendall
Date: 21 Nov 13 - 08:19 AM

Try saying to the wrong person: "It's useless to play the violin in front of an ox" and see what happens.

Subject: RE: BS: looking for an old saying
From: GUEST,Beachcomber
Date: 21 Nov 13 - 09:29 AM

When I was growing up in a small,a very small, village back in the 1940s and 50s the peace of the community was often shattered by a massive dogfight in the "Main" street. Dogs, in those days, were allowed to wander at large through the parish and a fight was a natural occurrence when any "outsider" dog ventured into unfamiliar territory. This often happened at night.
If the fight continued unabated for 10 minutes or more, the local policeman would begin knocking on doors and enquiring "Have ye a dog in this fight upstreet ?"
If not, one had no further business in becoming involved and thus gave rise to the saying "I've no dog in this fight !".

An' that's no lie.

Subject: RE: BS: looking for an old saying
From: Gurney
Date: 21 Nov 13 - 03:58 PM

Should read "Your dog's not in this fight."
The missing apostrophe makes a difference.

However, it might have been better to say; 'You haven't got a dog in this fight.'