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Work like a dog

Idiomatic Phrase
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A colloquial idiom describing extremely hard, strenuous, or relentless labor; often used in social realist poetry or prose to emphasize the physical toll of work, class struggle, and the dignity or exhaustion associated with manual labor and endurance.

Detailed Definition
Work like a dog means to labour extremely hard, often with exhaustion, loyalty, or little reward. In poetry, the idiom has strong social and bodily force, useful for workers, parents, servants, migrants, farmers, or anyone worn down by duty. The dog comparison may imply faithfulness and stamina, but also exploitation and low status. A poet may use it sympathetically to dignify labour, or angrily to expose injustice. The phrase is useful for exploring class, fatigue, and the value of work.
Example
Example in poetry:
A social poem might show the farmhand working like a dog from sunrise to moonrise; In a comic verse, the poet works like a dog on one couplet while the cat sleeps on the page; The phrase means to work very hard; A poet can use it to show exhaustion, duty, or unfair labour.
Additional Notes
Work like a dog means work extremely hard, often with little rest, status, or reward. The dog image may suggest loyalty, endurance, obedience, or exploitation, depending on context. In poetry, it suits labour poems, family duty, poverty, farming, domestic service, and modern work culture. Students should ask whether the speaker honours effort or criticises a system that demands it. It pairs well with sweat, fields, collars, tired hands, and unrecognised service.
Also Known As
hard
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