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• prairie-dog •

Pronunciation: pre-ree-dawg • Hear it!

Part of Speech: Verb, intransitive

Meaning: To rubberneck over the wall of an office cubicle to see what a commotion is all about.

Notes: Today's word is interesting because of its metaphorical use in the modern-day office. This setting contrasts starkly with the open prairie, home of the eponym of this usage, the actual prairie dogs. This is probably a nonce word; that is, a word that applies to a particular time and place and is unlikely to stick in the language. However, since it is a new usage, we are free to create our own paronyms. Should we speak of prairie-doggery out on the cubicle farm, or go with the more staid and ordinary prairie-dogging? It's our choice.

In Play: Let's see if we can come up with some appropriate prairie-doggerel to exemplify today's new word: "Bea Heine's new perfume had the whole office prairie-dogging when she came to work this morning." Of course, not everyone in the office has to stand up in order for this new verb to apply, "Farley, if I catch you and Gunnila prairie-dogging during work again, I'll rescind your water cooler privileges for a month! Is that clear?"

Word History: So, what's new? Prairie comes from French, specifically, from Old French praierie, possibly a Late Latin variation of Classical Latin prata "meadows". Now, here is some news: dog is a native Germanic word, from Old English docga which became Middle English dogge. The catch is, until a few hundred years ago, the word referred to a breed of large dogs and the general word for dog was hund, like German Hund today, source of modern day hound. The ultimate irony is, of course, prairie dogs are not dogs at all but rodents, closely related to squirrels. To learn more about them, click the picture above.

Doc, maybe it's my browser, but I'm not seeing a pic.

When I was a boy, the zoo in Roswell, NM (probably just the guy in town with the most pets...) actually had a prarie dog exhibit. They'd just fenced in a natural colony, and, of course, they just burrowed under the fence.
Struck me as funny.

They'd just fenced in a natural colony, and, of course, they just burrowed under the fence. struck me as funny

because it IS funny

Oh skinny, that's too bad it's the cutest lil guy, you are really missing something!
here's another to give you a glimpse.

mark former-cubicle-dawg Bailey

Do, maybe it's my browser, but I'm not seeing a pic.

...

No, that's left over from the Email. It was a link to a National Geographic web page about the subject rodents. It's too late to be ambitious, so you'll have to wait.

When I was a boy, the zoo in Roswell, NM (probably just he guy in town with the most pets...) actually had a prarie dog exhibit. They'd just fenced in a natural colony, and, of course, they just burrowed under the fence.
Struck me as funny.

There is a prairie dog enclosure at the Oshkosh Zoo as well, which surprised me the first visit. In a different life I used to worry that the stockhorse saddled for me would step in one of their tunnels. Fortunately, this never happened.
I felt for that zoo population, though, as herds of rampaging children hang over the enclosure wall and shriek comments about and at them at the tops of their lungs. Perhaps their "guard duty" members are actually praying for the snows of winter to close the zoo for another season...

-gailr

au contraire
Something told me it's all happening at the zoo
I do believe it
I do believe it's true
It's a light and tumble journey from the East Side to the park
Just to find a fancy ramble to the zoo
But you can take the cross-town bus
If it's raining or it's cold
And the animals will love it if you do
(if you do)
Something told me it's all happening at the zoo
I do believe it
I do believe it's true
The monkeys stand for honesty
Giraffes are insincere
And elephants are kindly, but they're dumb
Orangatangs are skeptical of changes in their cages
And the zookeeper is very fond of rum...
Zebras are reactionaries
Antelopes are missionaries
Pidgeons plot their syncrosy
And hamsters turn on frequently
What the??
Guess you'll have to come and see
At the zoo (several times over)

I bolded a few lines for you amusement.

mark monkeys-stand-for-honesty-with-difficulty-though Bailey
cya later the zebras are on the Africam now,

I don't remember where it was (maybe the Detroit Zooligical Gardens), but I took my kids to a zoo that had an exhibit where the kids get inside and pop up like prairie dogs. They loved it.