put on the dog
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
To pretend to be wealthier or more important than one actually is
Literally: to put on the dog
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Examples
They put on the dog for the visitors from the city
AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)
Sources & notes
Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-31; pending editor spot-check.
Advertisement
Ad space — ads help keep Idiomer free. Premium will remove them.
Common questions
What does “put on the dog” mean?
To pretend to be wealthier or more important than one actually is Literally: to put on the dog
Is “put on the dog” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.
Advertisement
Ad space — ads help keep Idiomer free. Premium will remove them.