drover's dogn.
/ˌdrəʊvəz ˈdɒɡ/, /ˈdrəʊvəz dɒɡ/, U.S. /ˌdroʊvərz ˈdɔɡ/, /ˈdroʊvərz ˌdɔɡ/, /ˌdroʊvərz ˈdɑɡ/, /ˈdroʊvərz ˌdɑɡ/, Australian English /ˌdroʊvəz ˈdɔɡ/, /ˈdroʊvəz dɔɡ/ 1. Now chiefly Australian. A dog used for driving livestock to market, or for herding livestock, esp. cattle. Occasionally also: †any of several types of dog developed for this purpose (obsolete).
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1739 Derby Mercury 10 Jan. 1/2 She [sc. a woman perish'd with Cold] was discovered by a Drover's Dog, a little out of the Road, whose Master could by no means call him from her.
1800 S. Edwards Cynographia Brit. at Canis Degener. Charlton The Drover's Dog stands higher on his legs, is larger and fiercer than the Shepherd's Dog; colour black, brindled or grizzled, with generally a white neck, and some white on the face and legs.
1852 D. W. Bartlett What I saw in London i. 29 Scores of shepherd's and drover's dogs were tied to the fences, their ‘occupation gone’ now that the cattle or sheep were penned up or secured.
1922 A. F. Hochwalt Farmer's Dog Introd. xvi. A long-coated animal, sometimes resembling the collie, sometimes the old-time drover's dog, which later became the fancy old English sheepdog of the show bench.
1956 Queensland Agric. Jrnl. 82 528 Occasionally you strike a bold, strong-willed dog... He may be useful as a drover's dog or for the sheepyards.
2013 Ballarat (Austral.) Courier (Nexis) 18 Sept. 28 The dog, he thought, was too boisterous. He had too much push for a drover's dog he thought, so I was lucky enough to get him.
2.
a. Australian. Used, chiefly in similes, to describe a person who works hard, typically doing unrewarding or servile tasks. Esp. in to work like a drover's dog.
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society > occupation and work > working > [verb (intransitive)] > work hard or toil
workeOE
swingc1000
to the boneOE
labourc1390
toilc1400
drevyll?1518
drudge1548
droy1576
droil1591
to tug at the (an) oar1612
to stand to it1632
rudge1676
slave1707
to work like a beaver1741
to hold (also keep, bring, put) one's nose to the grindstone1828
to feague it away1829
to work like a nigger1836
delve1838
slave1852
leather1863
to sweat one's guts out1890
hunker1903
to sweat (also work) one's guts out1932
to eat (also work) like a horse1937
beaver1946
to work like a drover's dog1952
to get one's nose down (to)1962
1952 Daily Mercury (Mackay, Queensland) 29 Nov. 2/2 Average back bench member (of Parliament) works like a drover's dog, in season and out.
1978 T. Davies More Austral. Nicknames 44 The drover's dog, never stops working.
2000 Sunday Herald Sun (Melbourne) (Nexis) 16 Apr. 56 Mr Batters would toil like a drover's dog for the equivalent of $1 an hour on 8am-to-midnight shifts.
b. Australian. In expressions such as a drover's dog could do that, it's obvious to a drover's dog, etc., indicating that something could be done or understood by anyone, without requiring any particular talents, expertise, or insight.This usage originated in a statement made by politician Bill Hayden in 1983 when he resigned as leader of the Australian Labor Party following a challenge from Bob Hawke, who succeeded him as leader; see quot. 1983.
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the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > clearness, lucidity > [noun]
shireness?c1225
plainnessc1475
distinction1589
dilucidity1603
clarity1616
plain English1645
unmistakableness1665
distinctness1668
lucidness1836
unambiguity1842
lucidity1851
luminosity1865
luminousness1873
non-ambiguity1933
drover's dog1983
the world > action or operation > easiness > [noun] > absence of complexity > that which is
simple1616
open and shet1848
open-and-shut1871
drover's dog1983
1983 Canberra Times 4 Feb. 7/1 Mr Hayden said..‘I believe a drover's dog could lead the Labor party to victory the way the country is.’
1987 Courier-Mail (Brisbane) 10 Dec. It was pretty obvious that you were in a bad position—a drover's dog could see that.
1994 Austral. Commodore & Amiga Rev. Feb. 44/3 Program complexity:..Drover's dog could use it.
2018 Age (Melbourne) (Nexis) 29 Nov. 24 It should by now be clear, even to the drover's dog, that what is urgently needed is a new publicly owned bank.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2021; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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n.1739