The dog ate my homework

Last updated

Music homework purportedly partially eaten by a dog Music homework eaten by dog.jpg
Music homework purportedly partially eaten by a dog

"The dog ate my homework" (or "My dog ate my homework") is an English expression which carries the suggestion of being a common, poorly fabricated excuse made by schoolchildren to explain their failure to turn in an assignment on time. The phrase is referenced, even beyond the educational context, as a sarcastic rejoinder to any similarly glib or otherwise insufficient or implausible explanation for a failure in any context.

Contents

The claim of a dog eating one's homework is inherently suspect since it is both impossible for a teacher to disprove and conveniently absolves the student who gives that excuse of any blame. However, although suspicious, the claim is not absolutely beyond possibility since dogs are known to eat—or chew on—bunches of paper; John Steinbeck was once forced to ask his editor for additional time due to half the manuscript of Of Mice and Men having been eaten by his Irish Setter. [1] In 2022 a teacher posted to Reddit a picture of what was left of her students' homework after her dog chewed it up before she could grade it. [2]

As an explanation for missing documents, it dates to a story about a Welsh minister first recorded in print in 1905. The Oxford English Dictionary suggests that a 1929 reference establishes that schoolchildren had at some time earlier than that offered it as an excuse to teachers. It was so recorded, more than once, in the 1965 bestselling novel Up the Down Staircase , and began to assume its present sense as the sine qua non of dubious excuses, particularly in American culture, both in school and out, in the 1970s. American presidents from Ronald Reagan to Barack Obama have used it to criticize political opponents, and it has been a source of humor for various comic strips and television shows, such as The Simpsons .

History

Origins

The earliest known variation [3] on the idea that written work might be adversely affected by the tendency of some dogs to chew on paper came in a 1905 issue of The Cambrian, a magazine for Welsh Americans. William ApMadoc, the journal's music critic, related an anecdote about a minister temporarily filling in at a country church in Wales. After one service, he cautiously asked the clerk how his sermon had been received, in particular whether it had been long enough. Upon being assured that it was, he admitted to the clerk that his dog had eaten some of the paper it was written on just before the service. "Couldn't you give our wicar a pup o' that 'ere dawg, sir?" was the punchline, in Welsh dialect. ApMadoc applied the lesson to some overly long musical compositions, but wondered whether the dogs might suffer indigestion from consuming paper. [4]

Six years later, the president of the Fire Underwriters' Association of the Northwest was recorded repeating the anecdote at the organization's 42nd annual meeting. He describes it as Scottish in origin, and some of the details vary. The visiting minister speaks instead to a younger member of the congregation, who complains that the sermon was too short. In his telling, the dog was not his but one in the street who ate some of the papers after a wind blew them out of his hand. This elicits the same response, rendered in Standard English rather than dialect. [5]

The excuse for the brevity of the document did not become the punchline for another 18 years. The first use of the phrase recorded by the Oxford English Dictionary was in 1929, in an essay in the British newspaper The Guardian : "It is a long time since I have had the excuse about the dog tearing up the arithmetic homework." This suggests it had been in use among students for some time prior to that. [3]

External videos
Nuvola apps kaboodle.svg Video of a dog eating alleged homework

It was first reported in an American context in 1965. Bel Kaufman's bestselling comic novel, Up the Down Staircase , published that year, includes two instances where the protagonist's students blame their failure to complete their assignment on their dogs. In a section written as drama early in the book, one student refers to "a terrible tragedy ... My dog went on my homework!" [6] Later, a list of excuses includes "My dog chewed it up" and "the cat chewed it up and there was no time to do it over." [7]

Popularization

The phrase became widely used in the 1970s. [8] Young adult novelist Paula Danziger paid homage to it with the title of her 1974 debut, The Cat Ate My Gymsuit . [9] Two years later Eugene Kennedy described Richard Nixon as "working on the greatest American excuse since 'the dog ate my homework'" in the Watergate tapes, [10] and the following year John R. Powers had a character in his novel The Unoriginal Sinner and the Ice-Cream God reminisce about having used that excuse as a student. [11] Lexicographer Barry Popik, who called it "the classic lame excuse that a student makes to a teacher to cover for missing homework", found citations in print increasing from 1976. [12]

During the next decade, personal computers became more common in American households and schools, and many students began writing papers with word processors. This provided them with another possible excuse for missing homework, in the form of computer malfunctions. Still, "the dog ate my homework" remained common. In a 1987 article on this phenomenon, one teacher recalled to The New York Times that once a student had given him a note signed by a parent saying that the dog had eaten his homework. [13] The following year President Ronald Reagan lamented Congress's apparent failure to pass that year's federal budget on time, "I had hoped that we had marked the end of the 'dog-ate-my-homework' era of Congressional budgetry", he told reporters on canceling a planned news conference to sign the bills, "but it was not to be". His use showed that the phrase had become more generalized in American discourse as referring to any insufficient or unconvincing excuse. [14]

Memetic use of the phrase to promote search engine optimization Dog ate my homework SEO promo image.jpg
Memetic use of the phrase to promote search engine optimization

Use of the phrase in printed matter rose steadily through the end of the century. It leveled off in the early years of the 2000s, but has not declined. [15] During the 2012 United States presidential campaign, Barack Obama's campaign used it to rebuke Mitt Romney for not participating in Nickelodeon's "Kids Pick the President" special. "'The dog ate my homework' just doesn't cut it when you're running for president." [16]

In 1989 the popular sitcom Saved By The Bell debuted. Its theme song included the line "the dog ate all my homework last night". [3] Thus embedded in the American consciousness, it would be exploited for comic purposes in other television shows and comic strips.

A 1989 episode of Full House had the Tanners' new puppy, Comet, actually eat DJ's book report along with other household items. DJ, knowing that the excuse is a cliché, decides against telling her teacher what happened and claiming her toddler sister Michelle ate the report instead.

It became an occasional running gag on The Simpsons , which also began airing that year, mostly playing off Bart's tendency to offer ridiculous excuses for all sorts of misconduct to his teacher Mrs. Krabappel. In a 1991 episode, a difficult day for Bart begins with Santa's Little Helper, the family dog, eating his homework. "I didn't know dogs actually did that", he says, and finds his teacher equally incredulous since he had used that excuse before. [17] In a later episode, when the dog goes to work for the police, Bart must eat his own homework for the excuse to work. [18] When Mrs. Krabappel begins dating Ned Flanders, the Simpsons' neighbor, at the end of the 2011 season, she sees Santa's Little Helper in the Simpsons' yard and asks if he is the dog who has eaten Bart's homework so many times. Bart's attempts to demonstrate this and thus lend credibility to his use of the excuse backfire. [19]

In a 2000 episode of the animated television series CatDog featuring an anthropomorphic cat/dog conjoined twin, Cat hatched a plan to get rich by having Dog eat other people's homework. [20]

Humorists have also punned on the phrase. A Sam Gross New Yorker cartoon from 1996 shows a Venetian classroom of several centuries ago where a standing student announces "The Doge ate my homework." [21]

Comic strips that feature anthropomorphized dogs as characters have found the concept of those characters eating homework a source of humor. In one of his Far Side panels, Gary Larson depicted a classroom of dogs whose teacher asks, "Did anyone here not eat his or her homework on the way to school?" [22] In a 1991 Dilbert strip, a boy on the street asks Dogbert to chew on his homework so he can have the excuse; in the last panel the boy, beaten, is shown in class claiming a dog made him eat it. [23]

There have been three different books that used the excuse as a title. Two have been collections of poetry for students with a school theme, [24] [25] and one has been a business book about lessons dogs can teach about accountability. [26] Other books for young readers have had titles blaming aliens [27] and the protagonist's teacher [28] for the missing homework. A two-act children's musical called A Monster Ate My Homework has also been written. [29] The Dog Ate My Homework is the title of a British comedy/competition show first broadcast in 2014 on CBBC. [30]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Takeru Kobayashi</span> Japanese competitive eater (born 1978)

Takeru Kobayashi, also known as Takeru "Tsunami" Kobayashi, is a Japanese competitive eater.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bart Simpson</span> Fictional character from The Simpsons

Bartholomew Jojo "Bart" Simpson is a fictional character in the American animated television series The Simpsons and part of the Simpson family. He is voiced by Nancy Cartwright and first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987. Cartoonist Matt Groening created and designed Bart while waiting in the lobby of James L. Brooks' office. Groening had been called to pitch a series of shorts based on his comic strip, Life in Hell, but instead decided to create a new set of characters. While the rest of the characters were named after Groening's family members, Bart's name is an anagram of the word brat. After appearing on The Tracey Ullman Show for two years, the Simpson family received its own series on Fox, which debuted December 17, 1989. Bart has appeared in every Simpsons episode except "Four Great Women and a Manicure".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Santa's Little Helper</span> Dog in The Simpsons animated TV series

Santa's Little Helper is a fictional dog in the American animated television series The Simpsons. He is the pet greyhound of the Simpson family. He was previously voiced by Frank Welker, and is currently voiced by Dan Castellaneta. The dog was introduced in the first episode of the show, the 1989 Christmas special "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire", in which his owner abandons him for finishing last in a greyhound race. Homer Simpson and his son Bart, who are at the race track in hope of winning some money for Christmas presents, see this and decide to adopt the dog.

In rhetoric, a parenthesis or parenthetical phrase is an explanatory or qualifying word, phrase, clause, or sentence inserted into a passage. The parenthesis could be left out and still form grammatically correct text. Parenthetical expressions are usually delimited by round brackets, square brackets, dashes, or commas. English-language style and usage guides originating in the news industry of the twentieth century, such as the AP Stylebook, recommend against the use of square brackets for parenthesis and other purposes, because "They cannot be transmitted over news wires." Usage of parentheses goes back to the 15th century in English legal documents.

"Bart the Genius" is the second episode of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on January 14, 1990. It was the first episode written by Jon Vitti. It is the show's first normal episode as well as the first to use the signature title sequence, though this version is much different from the one subsequently used, from the second season to the twentieth season. In the episode, Bart cheats on an intelligence test and is declared a genius, so he is sent to a school for gifted children. Though he initially enjoys being treated as a genius, he begins to see the downside of his new life.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Groundskeeper Willie</span> Fictional character from The Simpsons franchise

Willie Sean Moran MacDougal, better known as Groundskeeper Willie, is a recurring character on The Simpsons, voiced by Dan Castellaneta. He is the head groundskeeper and Janitor at Springfield Elementary School. Willie is almost feral in nature and is immensely proud of his Scottish origin. He is easily identifiable by his red hair and beard, as well as his aggressive temperament and thick, stereotypical Scottish accent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Simpson family</span> Family of five fictional characters in animation series The Simpsons

The Simpson family are the main fictional characters featured in the animated television series The Simpsons. The Simpsons are a nuclear family consisting of married couple Homer and Marge and their three children, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie. They live at 742 Evergreen Terrace in the fictional town of Springfield, United States, and they were created by cartoonist Matt Groening, who conceived the characters after his own family members, substituting "Bart" for his own name. The family debuted on Fox on April 19, 1987, in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" and were later spun off into their own series, which debuted on Fox in the U.S. on December 17, 1989, and started airing in Winter 1989.

"Hungry, Hungry Homer" is the fifteenth episode of the twelfth season of the American television series The Simpsons. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on March 4, 2001. In the episode, Homer becomes a Good Samaritan after discovering the simple joys of helping people in need – which is put to the test when he goes on a hunger strike after the owner of the Springfield Isotopes baseball team attempts to discredit him when Homer stumbles on his plot to discreetly move the team to Albuquerque, New Mexico.

"Simpsons Bible Stories" is the eighteenth episode of the tenth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on Easter Sunday, April 4, 1999. It is the first of The Simpsons' now annual trilogy episodes, and consists of four self-contained segments. In the episode, the Simpson family falls asleep during a sermon in church. Marge dreams that she and Homer are Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, Lisa dreams that she and her fellow Springfield Elementary School students are Hebrew slaves in Ancient Egypt and guides Moses to lead them to freedom, Homer dreams that he is King Solomon called to resolve a dispute between Lenny and Carl over the ownership of a pie, and Bart dreams he is King David, who has to fight Goliath's son, Goliath II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Principal Skinner</span> Fictional character from The Simpsons franchise

Principal Seymour Skinner is a recurring fictional character in the animated sitcom The Simpsons, who is voiced by Harry Shearer. He is the principal of Springfield Elementary School, which he struggles to control, and is constantly engaged in a battle against its inadequate resources, apathetic and bitter teachers, and often rowdy and unenthusiastic students, Bart Simpson being a standout example.

"Bart's Dog Gets an 'F'" is the sixteenth episode of the second season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on March 7, 1991. In the episode, the Simpson family's dog, Santa's Little Helper, infuriates Homer and Marge by destroying a family heirloom and an expensive pair of shoes. When Marge and Homer want to get rid of the dog, Bart enrolls him at an obedience school to curb his bad behavior.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dog meat</span> Meat from dogs used as food

Dog meat is the flesh and other edible parts derived from dogs. Historically, human consumption of dog meat has been recorded in many parts of the world.

"Dog of Death" is the nineteenth episode of the third season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on March 12, 1992. In the episode, Santa's Little Helper falls ill and the family must make budget cuts to pay for his operation. Although the dog's life is saved, the family begins to feel the strain of their sacrifices and starts treating him badly, causing him to run away. Santa's Little Helper ends up in the possession of Mr. Burns, who trains him to become a vicious attack dog. Several days later, Bart stumbles upon the trained Santa's Little Helper and is attacked, but the dog eventually recognizes his old friend and stops.

"'Round Springfield" is the twenty-second episode of the sixth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on April 30, 1995. In the episode, Bart is hospitalized after eating a piece of jagged metal in his Krusty-O's cereal and sues Krusty the Clown. While visiting Bart, Lisa discovers her old mentor, jazz musician Bleeding Gums Murphy, is also in the hospital. When he dies suddenly, she resolves to honor his memory. Steve Allen and Ron Taylor guest star, each in his second appearance on the show. Dan Higgins also returns as the writer and performer of all of Lisa and Bleeding Gums' saxophone solos.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joey Chestnut</span> American competitive eater (born 1983)

Joseph Christian Chestnut is an American competitive eater. As of 2022, he is ranked first in the world by Major League Eating.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cat meat</span> Meat from domestic cats for human consumption

Cat meat is meat prepared from domestic cats for human consumption. Some countries serve cat meat as a regular food, whilst others have only consumed cat meat in desperation, i.e. during wartime, famine or poverty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cat–dog relationship</span> Interaction between the main house pets

Cats and dogs have a range of interactions. The natural instincts of each species lead towards antagonistic interactions, though individual animals can have non-aggressive relationships with each other, particularly under conditions where humans have socialized non-aggressive behaviors.

"A dingo ate my baby!" is a cry popularly attributed to Lindy Chamberlain-Creighton, as part of the 1980 death of Azaria Chamberlain case, at Uluru in the Northern Territory, Australia. The Chamberlain family had been camping near the rock when their nine-week-old daughter was taken from their tent. Prosecuting authorities rejected her story about a dingo as far-fetched, charging her with murder and securing convictions against her and, also, against her then-husband Michael Chamberlain as an accessory after the fact. After years of challenge in the courts, both parents were absolved of the crime, and a coroner found Azaria's death was, in fact, the result of being eaten by a dingo. The phrase has been used as a joke in popular culture due to its absurd nature.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stop, or My Dog Will Shoot!</span> 20th episode of the 18th season of The Simpsons

"Stop, or My Dog Will Shoot!" is the twentieth episode of the eighteenth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on May 13, 2007. When Santa's Little Helper rescues a lost Homer, he becomes a local hero and the Simpsons decide to enroll him in Police Dog Academy, where he is teamed with Lou and they become a crime-busting duo. Bart's excitement quickly vanishes after an incident with a jaded Santa's Little Helper, so to appease Bart's depression after the loss of his dog, Marge agrees to buy him a huge pet snake, which causes a life-threatening situation at Bart and Lisa's school. It was written by John Frink and directed by Matthew Faughnan. Friend of the show Stephen Hawking makes his third guest appearance on the show as himself, while Maurice LaMarche does the voice of the Horn Stuffer. Rudy Giuliani makes a guest voice appearance as himself, although not in the original airing. The fan-favorite song "Freak On a Leash" by metal band Korn is featured when Santa's Little Helper is trying to find Homer in a cornstalk maze. The episode was nominated for a Writers Guild of America Award.

<i>The Dog Ate My Homework</i> Childrens panel show aired in Britain

The Dog Ate My Homework is a British children's panel show hosted by Lauren Layfield. It was first broadcast on 17 January 2014 and was originally hosted by the comedian Iain Stirling. The show is produced by CBBC Productions Scotland for CBBC.

References

  1. ↑ "Computer Crashes Before Computers: When John Steinbeck's Dog Ate His Manuscript". May 27, 2016. Archived from the original on November 4, 2019. Retrieved January 24, 2020.
  2. ↑ Kato, Brooke (August 25, 2022). "I'm a teacher — and my dog ate my students' homework". New York Post . Retrieved November 17, 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 Forrest Wickman (October 9, 2012). "Why Do We Say "The Dog Ate My Homework"?". Slate . Archived from the original on October 14, 2012. Retrieved October 14, 2012.
  4. ↑ ApMadoc, William (September 1905). "Music". The Cambrian. XXV (9). Archived from the original on April 29, 2015. Retrieved October 14, 2012.
  5. ↑ Proceedings of the 42nd Annual Meeting of the Fire Underwriters' Association of the Northwest. HathiTrust Digital Library. 1911. Archived from the original on August 13, 2015. Retrieved October 15, 2012.
  6. ↑ Kaufman, Bel (1965). Up the Down Staircase. HarperCollins. p. 41. ISBN   9780060973612 . Retrieved October 15, 2012.
  7. ↑ Up The Down Staircase, 155.
  8. ↑ Scott Simon and Forrest Wickman (October 13, 2012). "Can The Dog Still Eat Your Homework?". National Public Radio. Archived from the original on October 14, 2012. Retrieved October 14, 2012.
  9. ↑ Danziger, Paula (1974). The Cat Ate My Gymsuit. HarperPutnam. ISBN   9780142406540 . Retrieved October 16, 2012.
  10. ↑ St. Patrick's Day with Mayor Daley and other things too good to miss , p. 87, at Google Books
  11. ↑ Powers, John R. (1977). The Unoriginal Sinner and the Ice-Cream God. Chicago: Loyola Press. p. 165. ISBN   9780829424294 . Retrieved October 16, 2012.
  12. ↑ Popik, Barry (August 28, 2012). ""The dog ate my homework" (student excuse)". barrypopik.com. Archived from the original on October 15, 2012. Retrieved October 16, 2012.
  13. ↑ Freitag, Michael (January 4, 1987). "Blackboard Notes: Excuses Go High-Tech". The New York Times . Archived from the original on October 16, 2012. Retrieved October 16, 2012.
  14. ↑ Rasky, Susan (October 1, 1988). "Congress Meets Spending Bill Deadline". The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 16, 2012. Retrieved October 16, 2012.
  15. ↑ Ngram viewer. 2012. Retrieved October 16, 2012.
  16. ↑ Lisa de Moraes (October 8, 2012). "TV Column: Romney snubs Nick's 'Kids'". Washington Post. Archived from the original on August 12, 2015. Retrieved October 14, 2012.
  17. ↑ John Swartzwelder (October 10, 1991). "Bart the Murderer". The Simpsons. Season 3. Episode 39. Fox.
  18. ↑ John Frink (May 13, 2007). "Stop or My Dog Will Shoot". The Simpsons. Season 18. Episode 398. Fox.
  19. ↑ Jeff Westbrook (May 22, 2011). "The Ned-Liest Catch". The Simpsons. Season 22. Episode 486. Fox.
  20. ↑ List of CatDog episodes Season 2 Episode 19
  21. ↑ Gross, Sam (March 18, 1996). "The Doge ate my homework". Conde Nast. Archived from the original on October 6, 2016. Retrieved October 5, 2016.
  22. ↑ Larson, Gary. "Far Side Cartoon: Dogs in school". Universal Press Syndicate. Archived from the original on August 17, 2015. Retrieved October 16, 2012.
  23. ↑ Adams, Scott (March 27, 1991). "March 27, 1991". Dilbert.com. Archived from the original on May 28, 2013. Retrieved June 8, 2015.
  24. ↑ Holbrook, Sara (1996). The Dog Ate My Homework. Honesdale, PA: Boyds Mill Press. ISBN   9781563976384. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved October 6, 2016.
  25. ↑ Lansky, Bruce (2009). My Dog Ate My Homework. Meadowbrook. ISBN   9781416989134. Archived from the original on July 20, 2014. Retrieved October 6, 2016.
  26. ↑ Dwyer, Joe (2011). The Dog Ate My Homework. Indianapolis, IN: Dog Ear Publishing. ISBN   9781608449644. Archived from the original on July 27, 2014. Retrieved October 6, 2016.
  27. ↑ Coville, Bruce (2007). Aliens Ate My Homework. New York, NY: Simon and Schuster. ISBN   9781416938835. Archived from the original on July 25, 2014. Retrieved October 6, 2016.
  28. ↑ Greenburg, Dan (2002). My Teacher Ate My Homework. Penguin. ISBN   9780448426839. Archived from the original on July 27, 2014. Retrieved October 6, 2016.
  29. ↑ Christiansen, Arne (1995). A Monster Ate My Homework. Englewood, CO: Pioneer Drama Service. Archived from the original on July 23, 2014. Retrieved October 6, 2016.
  30. ↑ "The Dog Ate My Homework". British Comedy Guide. Archived from the original on July 4, 2014. Retrieved July 3, 2014.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.