like strange bulldogs

In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.

Meaning · English

Wary and unfriendly; on the verge of a fight.

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

Cẩn thận và không thân thiện; gần như sẵn sàng đánh nhau

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

Register: dated

Where it’s used: Used American English

Examples

When I think of those folks, living in one room and getting along like a couple of strange bulldogs, I feel like stringing with the man who says that we get our hell on this earth sometimes.

Usage example from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30)

Sources & notes

Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30 via kaikki.org).

Common questions

What does “like strange bulldogs” mean?

Wary and unfriendly; on the verge of a fight.

Is “like strange bulldogs” formal or informal?

like strange bulldogs is generally dated.