dog days

Summary

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Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Day: “Dog Days”

Podcast Date: July 21, 2026
Host: Peter Sokolowski
Theme: Origins and meanings of the phrase “dog days”

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Episode Overview

This episode explores the phrase “dog days,” explaining its definitions, origins, and cultural context. Host Peter Sokolowski dives into where the term comes from, what it means today, and how it connects to both language and astronomical history.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Definition of “Dog Days”

• Dog days is a plural noun.
• Refers to “the hottest time of the year, which in the Northern Hemisphere is usually between early July and early September.”
• Also describes “a period of stagnation or inactivity suggestive of hot, sultry weather, when it can be difficult to summon the energy required for hard work.”
  (00:42)

2. Usage in Sentences

• Example from the Peterborough:

  “When the dog days of summer were at their fullest, my new friends and I often played scrub baseball at Cameron Street School. We also rode our bicycles all over the South End.”
  (01:17)

• Commentary on summer lethargy:

  “Idle hands may be the devil's workshop, but let's be serious. When it's stiflingly hot outside, who among us isn't tempted to shirk, work and go lie doggo in the shade somewhere? Such is the desire of many a creature, not just dogs or lexicographers, during the dog days of summer.”
  — Peter Sokolowski (01:34)

3. Origins of the Term

• The expression “dog days” has an astronomical origin.
  • “The dog in dog days is the Dog Star, also known as Sirius, the star that represents the Hound of the hunter Orion in the eponymous constellation.”
    (01:54)
  • Sirius is prominent because “it rises simultaneously with the sun during the hottest days of summer.” This celestial phenomenon is the source of the phrase's association with heat and the languor of summer.

4. Host’s Sign-Off

• “With your word of the day, I'm Peter Sokolowski.” (02:15)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On summer lethargy:

  “When it's stiflingly hot outside, who among us isn't tempted to shirk, work and go lie doggo in the shade somewhere?”
  — Peter Sokolowski (01:36)

• Connection to astronomy:

  “The dog in dog days is the Dog Star, also known as Sirius…which rises simultaneously with the sun during the hottest days of summer.”
  — Peter Sokolowski (01:54)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:42 – Definition of “dog days”
• 01:17 – Example sentence from the Peterborough
• 01:34 – Commentary on the feeling of summer idleness
• 01:54 – Explanation of the astronomical origin involving Sirius
• 02:15 – Host sign-off

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Tone & Language

The episode is warm, accessible, and lightly humorous, matching Merriam-Webster’s friendly, educational style. The tone is conversational with a dose of curiosity about words and their stories.

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Further Learning

Listeners are encouraged to visit merriam-webster.com for more definitions, wordplay, and trending word lookups. (02:21)

Transcript

[A]

Foreign. It's the Word of the Day podcast for July 21st.

[B]

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[A]

Today's word is Dog Days Spelled as two words, dog days is a plural noun that refers to the hottest time of the year, which in the Northern Hemisphere is usually between early July and early September. Dog days can also refer to a period of stagnation or inactivity suggestive of hot, sultry weather, when it can be difficult to summon the energy required for hard work. Here's the word used in a sentence from the Peterborough when the dog days of summer were at their fullest, my new friends and I often played scrub baseball at Cameron Street School. We also rode our bicycles all over the South End. Idle hands may be the devil's workshop, but let's be serious. When it's stiflingly hot outside, who among us isn't tempted to shirk, work and go lie doggo in the shade somewhere? Such is the desire of many a creature, not just dogs or lexicographers, during the dog days of summer. If you're curious about how dogs got singled out in this expression, we might say it was in the stars. The dog in dog days is the Dog Star, also known as Sirius, the star that represents the Hound of the hunter Orion in the eponymous constellation. The star has long been associated with sultry weather in the Northern Hemisphere because it rises simultaneously with the sun during the hottest days of summer. With your word of the day, I'm Peter Sokolowski.

[C]

Visit merriam webster.com today for definitions, wordplay and trending word lookups.