Dog in the manger means someone who is envious and tries to sabotage another person's good fortune. I don't know the origin (?)
hi longtire et al :}
'dog in the manger' is a phrase used a lot by my mother.
she studied language and the origin of words and phrases.... i =think= but im totally willing to be wrong that the origin comes from a dog who will jump into the manger to stop the cows and horses from eating their hay. everyone knows dogs dont eat hay... but, this dog just cant stand to see the cows and horses getting any, so even though he wont eat it himself, he will still jump into that manger for the sole reason of preventing the others from getting what they need. its about jealousy.
kind of like the spoiled toddler analogy who only wants a toy beucase someone else has it, or will ruin something just because someone else is enjoying it. they just cant stand to see someone else being fulfilled or happy so they seek to prevent it, even though otherwise they wouldnt care at all about that particiular thing.
but it could also be biblical. in this case of course - vunils sister is jealous that vunil is happy and is trying to place herself between, out of her own insecurity, even when otherwise she probably doesnt give half a cr*p. = 'dog in the manger'.
