have a dog in the fight

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Jump to navigation Jump to search

English

[edit]

Etymology

[edit]

In reference to dogfighting and its spectators.

Verb

[edit]

have a dog in the fight (third-person singular simple present has a dog in the fight, present participle having a dog in the fight, simple past and past participle had a dog in the fight)

  1. (US, chiefly in the negative) To have a personal stake in the issue.
    • 2006 October 1, Dennis Lehane, “Refugees” (00:32:06), in The Wire, season 4, episode 4:
      Wilson: He's right. They endorse Royce, fine, 'the hell else they gonna do? But what they say and don't say from the pulpit the Sunday before the primary we still got a dog in that fight.
      Carcetti: I do this right, they respect it.
      Wilson: An' if they don't, at least they get to see a beggin’-ass white man on his knees. Always a feel-good moment for the folks.

Synonyms

[edit]