Definitions
from The Century Dictionary.
- Having the corners of the leaves curled over and soiled by use, as a book. Also
dog's-eared .
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- adjective Having the corners of the leaves turned down and soiled by careless or long-continued usage; -- said of a book.
- adjective worn down, shabby.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adjective Bent or slightly ragged in appearance, especially due to having been read many times.
- adjective Having the corner folded over, as a sort of bookmark.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- adjective worn or shabby from overuse or (of pages) from having corners turned down
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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There were avocados on mismatched plates eaten under shade trees with chai lattes next to dog-eared classics and a 50 cent romance pinched from the laundry across the street.
You are beautiful just the way you are E. Victoria Flynn 2011
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In "Twin," his show on view now at New Image Gallery in West Hollywood, he happily employs a mash-up process that borrows heavily from graffiti's mark-making and dog-eared textures of urban decay, easily sliding back and forth between paint, collage, and de-collage to achieve his sense of balance.
Jaime Rojo & Steven Harrington: UK Street Artist HUSH, Blue Geishas And Graffiti Tags Jaime Rojo 2011
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You can check the handbag of just about any night shift nurse and you will usually find a dog-eared copy of “The Notebook”, “P.S. – I Love You” or “Message in a Bottle”.
How To Be A Man In The Romance Market | The Creative Penn 2010
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There's plenty to be said for a dog-eared, motor-oil-stained, well-underlined copy of "On the Road," but there are a few things the vintage version doesn't offer.
Travel Apps That Won't Bust Your Bill Jasmine Moy 2011
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Associated Press Jack Kerouac There's plenty to be said for a dog-eared, motor-oil-stained, well-underlined copy of "On the Road," but there are a few things the vintage version doesn't offer.
'On the Road,' Unleashed Sara Clemence 2011
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(I have heard some Internet blowhards attempting to expound on what they apparently see as an inherently right-wing traditionalist heavy metal philosophy, but I am fairly sure this is simply the result of a few too many hours spent feverishly masturbating over their dog-eared copy of Lords Of Chaos.)
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A low card table with a green felt inlay, deck of dog-eared cards, the suits faded and fingered to nothingness.
Where's Me Dinner Woman? James Claffey 2011
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Can fans clutching dog-eared copies searching for real-life images from its pages be far behind?
Travel 2009
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They'd go well with a splash of chili oil and a dog-eared copy of Good Omens.
FRIDAY; Or, This Week in Queries, With Albatrosses, Demonic, For the Use of 2010
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Sarah Palin is rarely seen in the Alaskan woods without her dog-eared copy of Immanuel Kant's "Prolegomena to Any Future Metaphysics."
Beach Reading for Would-Be Presidents Joe Queenan 2011
bilby commented on the word dog-eared
I like the reference to 'certain dogs' in the etymology above.
May 5, 2018