Not sure what the dog symbolism there is, but don't let a dog put his tongue in your mouth. Does it have something to do with the non-Tories who crossed over and voted for Johnson to show they want Brexit? I understand the word "bollocks," and I'm guessing the "x" represents the x-mark on a ballot. If you listen to Johnson's speech (at the link) you'll hear him thank those nonconservatives who "lent" him their vote, and he talks about and gestures marking an "x" on the ballot. Is it The Sun characterizing these votes as saying "Bollocks!" to the resistance to Brexit? Still, why a dog?
I do some research. "Dog's bollocks" has an entry at Wikipedia. It's something irrelevant but interesting. It's this punctuation mark, which you can see in the Declaration of Independence:
Well... maybe the Declaration of Independence is a little bit relevant to Brexit, but there's no way the Sun's headline is about the old-timey punctuation mark.
Now, I see that there was a slogan "Bollocks to Brexit" in this last election. Obviously, that's the anti-Brexit side, the side that lost badly in yesterday's election. So the headline might want to express "Bollocks!" to the side that said "Bollocks to Brexit." Still, why a dog?
Maybe it's based on the idiom "a dog's breakfast." Fortunately, I have already done my research on "a dog's breakfast" — back in 2013. "A dog's breakfast" is just "a confused mess." But yesterday's election was very decisive, more a cleaning up of a confused mess than a confused mess. I abandon this line of thinking.
Googling, "dog brexit," I find "U.K. Holds A Pivotal General Election, And Voters Bring Their Dogs To The Polls" (NPR) and "Polling stations/Forget politics, focus on the puppies!" (Vox).
So, there you have it! Dogs are a symbol of voting in the UK, and that's been combined with the slogan "Bollocks to Brexit." The "dogs" (the people) voted for Brexit: — The "dog's" expression of "Bollocks!" went against those who were hoping to get the "dogs" to say "Bollocks to Brexit." The "x" drives home the idea that we're talking about voting.
IN THE COMMENTS: Nicholas said:
Ann, as an Englishman, let me help you out. The expression "the dog's bollocks" is pretty obscure and I cannot explain how it came into being, but sometime around the 90s, in laddish circles (i.e. typical readers of the Sun, which is like a simplified version of the NY Daily News) the expression began to be used as a term of approval and admiration. For example, a car that was "the dog's bollocks" was a car to be coveted and regarded as better than its competitors.So... it's like "the bee's knees."
Attested since 1922, of unclear origin. There are several suggested origins, but it most likely arose in imitation of the numerous animal-related nonsense phrases popular in the 1920s such as the cat's pyjamas, cat's whiskers, cat's meow, gnat's elbow, monkey's eyebrows etc....... the dog's bollocks.
It seems as though you can take any animal and add some body part (or — in the case of "the cat's pajamas" — an attribute that the animal doesn't even have).
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The aristocracy is being defeated all around the world.
They will find a way to start a war soon.
They have the same barber.
Thank you for clearing that up so early in the AM.
In the UK, if something is "the dog's bollocks" it means that it's really good. So, it's just that it's a good result for the Conservatives not anything to do with "bollocks to Brexit"
As you say, dogs have very much become "a thing" here in connection to elections thanks to #dogsatpollingstations - just people talking their dogs to vote and posting photos. Not really a symbol of voting, just good old British eccentricity.
Roll a male dog over...... :__
Yep, there it is again.
We were promised tragic economic consequences if Brexit happens but financial markets don’t seem to be cooperating with that prediction.
Surprisingly.
Global equities, the Pound, all strongly positive. Our ruling class will have to have a talk with them. Hillary must not be pleased...
I wonder is US lefties in the House feel like Labour this morning with their churning away on a very unpopular course?
They will find a way to start a war soon.
I think the war will find them. Yeah.....I'm putting lamb's blood on the front door.
yes, dogs bollocks is like bees knees or top cobbler or cat’s pajamas.
Twenty three skidoo! No malarkey...
Thrilled to see the results. Might even add the UK to my summer travel itinerary.
SJWs will find a way to blame this on the electoral vote. Just give them time.
BoJo's got the Brexit Mojo
Wait!! Boris keeps a Jack!?!?!? He can't be all bad!
Ann, as an Englishman, let me help you out. The expression "the dog's bollocks" is pretty obscure and I cannot explain how it came into being, but sometime around the 90s, in laddish circles (i.e. typical readers of the Sun, which is like a simplified version of the NY Daily News) the expression began to be used as a term of approval and admiration. For example, a car that was "the dog's bollocks" was a car to be coveted and regarded as better than its competitors.
We were told this election was going to be close.
Once again, the polls are only wrong in one direction.
They bring their dogs to keep the Muslims from the polls, like the Black Panthers with their baseball bats.
I’ll confirm the English (British?) idiom of the Dogs Bollocks; a mark of appreciation.
I’m not sure how it really works, in this case, but whatever. It’s The Sun. But on that note, how it it that The Sun has superior reporting - actual reporting - than US newspapers (sic)?
Oh and that was a landslide: made me chuckle out loud. (COL? Instead of LOL?)
Boris made Labour his bitch.
To add to the etymology explained above: reason it means “best” is because dogs spend *so much time* licking them, so they must be good, the best, even.
This election answers the lefties' allegation that the people didn't know what they were voting for back in 2016. Brexit, full steam ahead.
Ah, british english. "The Dog's Bollocks" is roughly equivalent to the american expression "The bees knees", though obviously more profane (bollocks being testicles). It means "The best thing, quality shit, just what the doctor ordered". "Mate, you have to try one of these mince pies, they're the dog's bollocks."
Oddly, if you lose the dog, it has the opposite meaning. "That's bollocks." is roughly "That's bullshit".
"Bollocks to that" means "Fuck that."
Source: I'm an american with british family, who has spent a great deal of time there.
another bollocks usage from the mid-seventies via Johnny Rotten et al...
Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols
In addition to the landslide numbers, Boris leads a Conservative party much more conservative than its composition even six months ago. In the run-up to the election, and amid the chaos in Parliament, quite a few Conservatives were kicked out of the party ("had the whip removed") and others quit in protest. As a consequence, Conservative party MP's that we would refer to as "RINOS" have been replaced by Conservative MP's who are actually conservative. This is probably painting with too broad a brush, but it would seem that the Conservative Party has moved significantly to the right.
Boris Badenov wins! But Hillary is on the case!
I think that the tweets about how the remainers made a misstep in accepting the snap election are amazingly obtuse. As if getting their way over the opposition of the voters themselves was the obvious goal. The lesson is not that the election was wrong, the lesson is that it was stupid to oppose Brexit.
I wonder if there are any antique Spitfires doing victory laps over the channel today?
Boris leads a Conservative party much more conservative than its composition even six months ago. In the run-up to the election, and amid the chaos in Parliament, quite a few Conservatives were kicked out of the party ("had the whip removed") and others quit in protest.<
This is very important and will be so going forward. It is a bit like Trump's GOP which has been transforming the same way.
The retirements of the RINOs in 2018 shifted Congress to the left (sort of) but they have done nothing but impeachment and crazy ideas like Green New Deal. AOC has 18% approval in her district now. I hope the RNC has been recruiting good candidates for next year. Knowing them, I doubt it.
...the dog's bollocks.
The penis fish's bicycle!
Why does a dog lick his bollocks?
Because he can...
Re “dogs bollocks”: Also let’s recall: Jo Swinson, head off the LibDem Party said “Bollocks to Brexit” so it’s a kind of neat riposte to her as well. Extra wounding for her: she lost her seat
I use the German DAX as well as the FTSE as my index for my European investments.
Even the Germans like the result! DAX is up over 1% today.
DAX is up over 28. It is well into 2017 levels now.
FTSE is up almost 2%
I am long on the Euro market.
I hope for continuing recovery in the DAX and FTSE.
British "dogs bollocks"= American "cats meow" ?
Even the Germans like the result! DAX is up over 1% today.
DAX is up over 28. It is well into 2017 levels now.
FTSE is up almost 2%
Pound is up, Asia is up, US equities are higher. We were promised economic collapse if Brexit happened. How disappointing...
I confess to looking at the pics of those fish yesterday. Today I'm getting phallic centric images in the ads here on Althouse.
"...the best, even."
Be Bollocks.
So Trump is our dog's bollocks and Johnson is their dog's bollocks. They two are similar in having great communication skill. And clearly in the Anglosphere, the Blondes Have More Fun.
rehajm said...
"Why does a dog lick his bollocks?
Because he can..."
Two Aggies were at cabin after hunting all day. There was a roaring fire and the hunting dog was sitting in the warmth licking his balls.
One Aggie says to the other, "I wish I could do that."
The other Aggie says, "Yeah, wouldn't that be fine? I'd try it, but I'm afraid he would bite me."
I always though "Bees' Knees" referred to how bees carry pollen back to the hive.
Notice the Biden connection with hairy legs! Or you could say bringing pollen back to the nest as "Hunter's Knees".
Honey bees fill ‘saddlebags’ with pollen. Here’s how they keep them gripped tight
Bees don’t just transport pollen between plants, they also bring balls of it back to the hive for food. These “pollen pellets,” which also include nectar and can account for 30% of a bee’s weight, hang off their hind legs like overstuffed saddlebags (pictured). Now, researchers have investigated just how securely bees carry their precious cargo. The team caught roughly 20 of the insects returning to their hives and examined their legs and pollen pellets using both high-resolution imaging and a technique similar to an x-ray. Long hairs on the bees’ legs helped hold the pollen pellets in place as the animals flew, the team reported last week at the 70th Annual Meeting of the American Physical Society Division of Fluid Dynamics in Denver. The researchers then tugged on some of the pollen pellets using elastic string. They found that the pellets, though seemingly precarious, were firmly attached: The force necessary to dislodge a pellet was about 20 times more than the force a bee typically experiences while flying. These findings can help scientists design artificial pollinators in the future, the team suggests.
Even the Germans like the result!
I suspect everyone's just relieved to have the thing decided. Easier to plan.
Do we know if Putin prefers Brexit or Remain?
If something is the dog's bollocks, it's good. On the other hands, without the dog qualifier, if something is just bollocks, it's bad.
Great news for the West. England as the new Hong Kong/Singapore is a form of trilateral Geo strategy hegemonic move against the Chi Coms
From your go-to source - https://www.oed.com/view/Entry/56405
dog's bollocks n. (also dog's ballocks) British coarse slang
(a) Typography a colon followed by a dash, regarded as forming a shape resembling the male sexual organs (see quot. 1949) (rare);
(b) (with the) the very best, the acme of excellence; cf. the cat's whiskers at cat n.1 13l, bee's knee n. (b) at bee n.1 5b.
1949 E. Partridge Dict. Slang (ed. 3) 1033/2 Dog's ballocks, the typographical colon-dash (:—).
c1986 in P. Brewis et al. Gambler (cassette tape sleeve notes) They are of the opinion that, when it comes to Italian opera, Pavarotti is the dog's bollocks.
1989 C. Donald et al. (title) Viz: the dog's bollocks: the best of issues 26 to 31.
1995 Times 4 Oct. 7/1 Before Tony Blair's speech, a chap near me growled: ‘'E thinks 'e's the dog's bollocks.’ Well he's entitled to. It was a commanding speech: a real dog's bollocks of an oration.
2000 Front Oct. 51/3 You said you quite fancied Jon Bon Jovi. Yeah, Jon Bon Jovi is the dog's bollocks.
British elections often have foretold US ones or vice versa- Thatcher's in 1979, 1983, and 1987 were good omens for Republicans in the US. Even the one in 1992 might well be viewed as an omen for Republicans if you just go back to Thatcher's ouster by Major- Major and the Tories won a healthy election in 1992, but that spelt the end for the Tory reign by 1997, and that ouster of Thatcher by Major is kind of reminiscent of what Perot did to Bush Sr., costing the latter the 1992 election. One could argue that Clinton's modest landslide reelection set the omen for predicting Tony Blair's massive landslide in 1997, that Blair's third massive reelection in 2005 set the omen for the 2006 midterms in the US, and that Gordon Brown's loss in 2010 set the omen for the Republicans retaking the House later that year.
And, of course, Brexit was a prelude to Trump's victory in November of that year. For whatever reason, the politics of the two countries are weirly aligned- the major discrepancy in all of this is Blair and Bush Jr.- but then Blair was the biggest ally of the War on Terror (a fact that cost him his job, too).
Nietzsche uses the :— too. That puts it back into the 19th Century
You know what's neither the dog's bollocks nor the bee's knees? That stupid "Whoops!" message I get half the time when I try to post a comment here. No other bog does this. Why here?
I always liked 20s slang like the Bees Knees and the Cat's pajamas. In reading a Biography of General Montgomery i came off the phrase "a dogs breakfast" a lot. Monty was talking about how Eisenhower or Bradley had made a "dogs breakfast" of some battle.
Slang gets sanitized if used long enough. supposedly "jazz" and "rock and Roll" meant sex, but got redefined as the words were used more often. And "Screw" is just a euphemism for "Fuck". Which is obvious to people who grew up using the word, not obvious to those of us who didn't.
A common thread from English Remainers: now other non-England parts might gain independence. They worry about losing control over Ireland or Wales, or Cyprus. Imperialism dies hard, but lives on in the Remainers' hearts.
Stacey Abrams demands a recount!
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