in the doghouse
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in the doghouse
slang In trouble with someone due to one's misdeeds or blunders. I'll be in the doghouse if I come into work late again this week. You've been in the doghouse with Maria ever since you forgot her birthday.
See also: doghouse
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
*in the doghouse
Fig. in trouble; in (someone's) disfavor. (*Typically: be ~; get ~; find oneself ~; put someone [into] ~.) I'm really in the doghouse with my boss. I was late for an appointment. I hate being in the doghouse all the time. I don't know why I can't stay out of trouble.
See also: doghouse
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
in the doghouse
In disfavor, in trouble, as in Jane knew that forgetting the check would put her in the doghouse. This expression alludes to relegating a dog that misbehaves to its outdoor kennel. [c. 1900]
See also: doghouse
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
in the doghouse
INFORMALIf you are in the doghouse, someone is annoyed with you because of something you have done. If you give her a birthday card and nothing else, you'll be in the doghouse. Four Caribbean prime ministers have landed themselves in the doghouse after failing to turn up to a top-level meeting at the White House. Note: In American English, a `doghouse' is a kennel.
See also: doghouse
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012
in the doghouse (or dogbox)
in disgrace or disfavour. informal 1963 Pamela Hansford Johnson Night & Silence He'd been getting bad grades, he was in the dog-house as it was.
See also: doghouse
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
in the doghouse
Slang In great disfavor or trouble.
See also: doghouse
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
in the doghouse
In disgrace. The term alludes to sending a dog that misbehaves indoors to its outdoor kennel. It is of relatively recent origin, presumably from about 1900. In James Barrie’s Peter Pan (1904) Mr. Darling mistreats the children’s favorite, a dog named Nana, and in penance goes to live in the dog’s house.
See also: doghouse
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer