Maori dogn.
/ˈmaʊrɪ dɒɡ/, U.S. /ˈmaʊri ˌdɔɡ/, /ˈmaʊri ˌdɑɡ/, New Zealand English /ˈmʌːori ˌdɒɡ/, /ˈmæuri ˌdɒɡ/ New Zealand.
1. A dog of Polynesian origin which was first introduced to New Zealand by the Maori and became extinct as a pure breed during the 19th cent. Also: any mongrel dog associated with Maori settlements or living in a wild state. Cf. kuri n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > mammals > group Unguiculata or clawed mammal > family Canidae > other types of dog > [noun] > miscellaneous types of
bear dog1581
xoloitzcuintli1780
St. Bernard1839
Maori dog1840
Leonberg1907
Rottweiler1909
Dobermann pinscher1917
corgi1926
Bernese mountain dog1935
kuvasz1935
Bernese1936
Entlebucher1937
Munsterlander1945
spinone1945
Swedish Vallhund.1947
labradoodle1955
xolo1956
cockapoo1960
maltipoo1968
peekapoo1968
Rottie1968
dorgi1975
Shar-Pei1976
bandog1984
goldendoodle2001
1840 A. D. W. Best Jrnl. 9 Dec. (1966) 263 As we approached one of the Mauri dogs jumped overboard and swam towards some rocks.
1868 E. R. Chudleigh Diary 20 Feb. (1950) 216 Two of old Jims dogs are slain on suspicion [of sheep-worrying] and two other Maori dogs are tied up to die as soon as their owner returns.
1904 E. Tregear Maori Race 166 The Maori dog (Kuri ruarangi) has now entirely disappeared.
1950 N.Z. Jrnl. Agric. Feb. 136/1 Pastoralists..[in the early days] had their problems, too. Maori dogs were troublesome.
1966 Encycl. N.Z. I. 491/2 The Maori dog (kuri)..was probably introduced during the period of the Great Migration (c. 1350 a.d.)...It became extinct some years after the arrival of the European settlers.
1990 Handbk. N.Z. Mammals 281 Kuri Canis familiaris... Also called guri (southern Maori)..; Maori dog, native dog, Polynesian dog, wild dog (English).
2. In extended use, as a type of cunning or slyness. Frequently in cunning as a Maori dog (chiefly derogatory).
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the world > action or operation > ability > skill or skilfulness > cunning > [noun] > typical example of cunning thing or person
a wagonload (also barrel, etc.) of monkeys1930
Maori dog1947
1947 D. M. Davin For Rest of Lives 103 Cunning as a Maori dog, you know him.
1953 M. C. Scott Breakfast at Six iii. 30 ‘The professional charmer,’ jeered Larry... ‘Cunning as a Maori dog,’ supplemented Sam vulgarly.
1972 M. Hayward Diary 18 Apr. (1981) 30 He's told us about being at a Maori gathering when a pakeha said unthinkingly, ‘He's as cunning as a Maori dog.’ It appeared to have gone unnoticed until a Maori remarked, ‘He's as cunning as a pakeha dog.’
1995 Dominion (Wellington) 7 June 44 He denied a magazine article which..questioned Tatarangi's will to win. ‘I'd say that..Michael Campbell will turn out the better of the two. He's got more “Maori dog” in him.’
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2000; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1840