hangdog

See also: hang-dog and hang dog

English

Etymology

hang +‎ dog

Noun

hangdog (plural hangdogs)

  1. A base, degraded person; a sneak; a gallows bird.

Synonyms

Translations

Adjective

hangdog (not comparable)

  1. Low; sneaking; ashamed.
    • (Can we date this quote?), Thackeray
      The poor colonel went out of the room with a hangdog look.
    • 1951, Isaac Asimov, Foundation (1974 Panther Books Ltd publication), part V: “The Merchant Princes”, chapter 16, page 180:
      Asper Argo, the Well-Beloved, Commdor of the Korellian Republic greeted his wife’s entry by a hangdog lowering of his scanty eyebrows. To her at least, his self-adopted epithet did not apply. Even he knew that.

Translations

Further reading
  • hangdog at OneLook Dictionary Search
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