Every dog has its day

What is an idiom? An idiom is a phrase or expression. They are tricky to understand as their meanings do not directly relate to the individual words used in the phrase.

Definition:

The English idiom "every dog has its day" means that everyone will have a moment of success or good luck, even if it doesn't happen often. It suggests that eventually, everyone gets a chance to shine or be successful.

Origin:

The phrase dates back to ancient times, with early uses found in the writings of the Greek playwright Euripides around 405 B.C. It was popularized in English by Shakespeare in his play Hamlet, where he wrote,

"Let Hercules himself do what he may, the cat will mew and dog will have his day."

The idea is that even the most humble or unfortunate person will have a time when things go well for them.

Examples:

Today the idiom is used in different everyday situations to express exhaustion.

Here are examples of how the idiom can be used in sentences

Business context:

"After working hard for years without recognition, she finally got promoted. Every dog has its day."

"The small company struggled for years, but now it’s doing really well. Every dog has its day."

Sports context:

"The weakest team beat the champions today! It just goes to show, every dog has its day."

"Even though they’ve been losing all season, they finally won a game. Every dog has its day."

Education context:

"I didn’t win the competition this year, but who knows, every dog has its day."

"He wasn’t the best student, but he passed all his exams in the end. Every dog has its day."


More English idioms explained…

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Top dog

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In the bag