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Double-dog dare

Posted by ESC on December 14, 2003

In Reply to: Wanted: Origins of "Double dog dare" posted by Twirlgirl on December 12, 2003

: Where does that phrase come from, and really, what does it mean? I mean, I know it's a dare of all dares but what does a dog have to do with it?

DOUBLE-DOG DARE - verb phrase. Also: dog dare, double-black-dog dare, double-dare, [word removed in order to comply with Google's Publisher Policy]-dare, niggle dare. Chiefly Southern, Southern Middle. To challenge defiantly. Note: The formulaic phrases build both on alliteration and (usually euphemistic) intensifiers. 1892 Dialectic Notes, 1.229 KY, Dare. Children in quarrelling say, "I dare you." "I dog dare you." "I black dog dare you." "I double dog dare you." "I double black dog dare you." From "Dictionary of American Regional English," Volume II by Frederic G. Cassidy (1991, Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Mass., and London, England).

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