bulldogn.
1.
a. A dog of a bold and fierce breed, with large bull-head, short muzzle, strong muscular body of medium height, and short smooth hair, formerly much used for bull-baiting.
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the world > animals > mammals > group Unguiculata or clawed mammal > family Canidae > other types of dog > [noun] > bulldog
bulldog?1518
bull-bitch1681
bull1827
bull-pup1883
French bulldog1893
boxer1903
?1518 Cocke Lorelles Bote sig. B.iv Than came one wt two bolddogges at his tayle.
1752 D. Hume Ess. & Treat. (1777) I. 216 The courage of bull-dogs and game-cocks seems peculiar to England.
1828 W. Scott Fair Maid of Perth x, in Chron. Canongate 2nd Ser. II. 279 What are the useful properties of this fellow Bonthron? Those of a bull-dog..he worries without barking.
1863 C. Kingsley Water-babies i. 5 He would be..a master sweep..and keep a white bull-dog with one grey ear.
b. attributive and quasi-adj., as bulldog breed.
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the world > animals > mammals > group Unguiculata or clawed mammal > family Canidae > other types of dog > [adjective] > like a bulldog
bulldog1855
bully1884
bulldogged1904
1855 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. IV. 588 That bulldog courage which flinches from no danger.
1857 C. Kingsley Two Years Ago II. iv. 67 Knowing him to be of the original British bull-dog breed, which, once stroked against the hair, shows his teeth at you for ever afterwards.
1871 Standard 18 Jan. Can Paris wait even until the bull-dog spirit of this hard-dying chief is able once more to show itself?
1897 F. McGlennon Sons of Sea 4 Sons of the Sea! All British born!..boys of the bull-dog breed Who made old England's name.
1940 ‘G. Orwell’ Inside Whale 40 The typical English boasting, the..‘bulldog breed’..style of talk.
c. transferred. Applied to persons: One that possesses the obstinate courage of the bulldog.
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the mind > emotion > courage > bravery or boldness > sturdiness > [noun] > one who is sturdily courageous
bulldog1852
1852 [see bulldogism n. at Derivatives].
1862 C. Kingsley Water-babies iv, in Macmillan's Mag. Nov. 3/1 Tom was always a brave, determined little English bull-dog, who never knew when he was beaten.
d. Stock Exchange jargon. bulldog bond, a sterling bond issued by an overseas borrower. Also bulldog issue, bulldog market, etc., and absol.
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society > trade and finance > stocks and shares > [noun] > traffic in stocks and shares > types of market
commodity market1843
primary market1859
short interest1866
bear market1873
aftermarket1887
terminal market1887
Kaffir Circus1889
shop1889
bull market1891
open1898
curb-market1900
the junglea1901
jungle-market1900
short market1900
down market1915
short end1964
third market1964
Unlisted Securities Market1979
USM1979
bulldog market1980
society > trade and finance > stocks and shares > stocks, shares, or bonds > [noun] > bond > types of bond
government securities1707
Sword-blade bond1707
long bond1720
government paper1774
indent1788
premium bond1820
active1835
preference bond1848
investment bond1853
mortgage bond1853
revenue bond1853
municipal bond1858
treasury-bond1858
sices1867
property bond1869
government1870
priority bond1884
municipal1888
income bonds1889
yearling1889
war baby1901
Liberty Bond1917
Liberty Loan1917
victory bond1917
corporate1922
performance bond1938
convertible1957
Eurobond1966
Euroconvertible1968
managed bond1972
muni1973
granny bond1976
bulldog bond1980
Euro1981
granny1981
strip1982
zero1982
1980 Financial Weekly 1 Aug. 23/5 Denmark's £75m sterling bond..is the first ‘bulldog’ bond (domestic sterling issue for a foreign borrower) to be made since 1962.
1981 Times 27 Apr. 17/1 The World Bank is expected to announce a £100m bond issue this week on the domestic sterling market, the first such ‘bulldog’ issue by the bank in a decade.
1981 Daily Tel. 9 June 19 Some ‘bulldogs’, like those issued by the World Bank.., have held up relatively well in the recent shake-out.
1982 Financial Times 22 Mar. 1/6 This will be the second time the World Bank has tapped what is known as the bulldog market—the domestic sterling bond sector open to foreign borrowers.
1983 Times 9 Apr. 14/3 Neither corporate bonds nor bulldogs seem to be in the offing. The last bulldog issued, that for Sweden, is now at a premium of £8¼.
1984 Daily Tel. 27 Mar. 17/3 Finland is making its second venture into the domestic sterling bond market with a £50 million 25-year partly paid ‘bulldog’ issue which is priced to yield about 11.75 p.c. to redemption.
2. †A sheriff's officer (obsolete); one of the Proctors' attendants at the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge. colloquial.
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society > law > administration of justice > one who administers justice > an officer of the court > [noun] > official who executes orders of court > bailiff
beadlec1000
ridemanlOE
cacherela1325
outrider1332
bailiff1377
catchpolea1382
bailiec1386
officer?1387
sheriff's manc1400
attacher1440
messenger1482
tipped staffc1500
servitor1527
bailie-errant1528
processar1534
bum-bailiff1560
tipstaff1570
nut-hook1600
saffo1607
servera1612
bailiff-errant1612
bum-bailey1615
process servera1616
buckle-bosom1622
bumbee1653
exploiter1653
moar1656
bum1659
bummer1675
bumbail1696
bulldog1699
sheriff's officer1703
bum-trap1749
bound-bailiff1768
shelly-coata1774
body snatcher1778
lurcher1785
fool-finder1796
messenger1801
bugaboo1809
borough-bailiff1812
sheriff mair1812
speciality1815
grab1823
legalist1835
candy man1863
writter1882
sheriff1928
society > law > law enforcement > law-enforcement or peace-officer > [noun] > university policeman
bulldog1823
dog1847
society > education > educational administration > university administration > [noun] > proctor > proctor's attendant
bulldog1823
buller1906
1699 G. Farquhar Love & Bottle iii. ii. 34 He wou'd have put me off, so I sent for a couple of Bull-Dogs, and Arrested him.
1823 J. G. Lockhart Reginald Dalton I. i. x. 119 Long forgotten stories about proctors bit, and bull-dogs baffled.
1884 G. Allen Strange Stories 289 It was quite a fortnight before I [senior proctor] could face my own bulldogs unabashed.
3. transferred. Applied humorously to a cannon or other firearm; in modern use, a particular kind of revolver. Cf. barker n.1 Also attributive.
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society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > device for discharging missiles > firearm > [noun]
cane of fire1550
shota1578
fire1590
fire piece1592
fireweapon?1592
powder instrument1613
firearm1643
firegun1677
bulldog1700
nail driver1823
peacemaker1840
thunder stick1918
society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > device for discharging missiles > firearm > small-arm > [adjective] > types of revolver
six-shooting1858
bulldog1881
1700 G. Farquhar Constant Couple iii. i. 25 He whips out his Stilletto, and I whips out my Bull-Dog.
1820 W. Scott Abbot II. i. 16 A plague..on cannon and demi-cannon, and all the barking bull-dogs whom they halloo against stone and lime in these our days!
1823 W. Scott St. Ronan's Well III. iv. 95 ‘I have always a brace of bull-dogs about me’..so saying, he exhibited a very handsome, highly-finished..pair of pistols.
1867 W. H. Smyth & E. Belcher Sailor's Word-bk. Bull-dog or Muzzled Bull-dog, the great gun which stands ‘housed’ in the officer's ward-room cabin. General term for main-deck guns.
1881 Daily News 27 Oct. 6/2 Revolver cartridges of the ordinary ‘bulldog’ pattern.
4. An insect:
a. A kind of gad-fly (American). In full bulldog fly.
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the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > order Diptera or flies > [noun] > suborder Brachycera > family Tabanidae > member of genus Tabanus (gadfly or horse-fly) > unspecified type
dun fly1610
side-fly1634
bulldog1792
1792 P. Turnor Jrnl. in Jrnls. S. Hearne & P. Turnor (1934) 488 A kind of fly..called bull dogs.
1836 R. King Narr. Journ. Arctic Ocean I. 82 Horse-flies (significantly called ‘bull-dogs’).
1848 R. M. Ballantyne Hudson's Bay (ed. 2) vii. 147 The whole room was filled with mosquitoes and bull-dog flies.
1865 Visct. Milton & W. B. Cheadle N.-W. Passage by Land 219 The ‘bull-dog’ or tabanus, is a large fly..with a long body, banded with yellow..and its mouth is armed with a formidable cutting apparatus of four lancets.
1883 St. James's Gaz. 19 Apr. ‘Bull~dogs’ (a large horse-fly) render existence almost unendurable.
1895 H. S. Somerset Land of Muskeg 63 The mosquitoes and bull-dog flies.
b. A kind of ant; also bulldog ant (Australian).
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the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > order Hymenoptera > [noun] > suborder Apocrita, Petiolata, or Heterophaga > group Aculeata (stinging) > ant > member of genus Myrmecia (bull-ant)
bulldog1853
bull-ant1900
jumper1907
1853 E. Clacy Lady's Visit Gold Diggings Austral. xvi. 249 The largest [ants] are called by the old colonists, ‘bull~dogs’, and formidable creatures they are.
1860 W. B. Clarke Res. S. Gold Fields New S. Wales vii. 120 It was difficult to find a spot on which to lay our blankets, on account of the ‘Bull Dog Ants’.
1881 Cheq. Career 324 The ‘bull-dog’ ant and the ‘soldier’ are about on a par as regards venom.
5. In Iron-works. See quot.; also in combination bulldog-burner n.
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society > occupation and work > materials > types of material generally > [noun] > material for lining or building up a furnace
furnace-earth1612
fix1873
bulldog1881
fettle1894
society > occupation and work > worker > workers according to type of work > manual or industrial worker > workers with specific materials > metalworker > [noun] > ironworker or blacksmith > other types of ironworker
lorimerc1230
ironfounder1492
iron man1610
brightsmith1734
shingler1832
baller?1881
bulldog-burner1881
1881 Trans. Amer. Inst. Mining Engineers 1880–1 9 113 Bulldog, a refractory material used as furnace-lining, got by calcining mill-cinder, and containing silica and ferric oxide.
1884 Times 8 Jan. The ‘bulldog burner’..is one of the hands in ironworks whose duty it is to roast the refuse cinder (called ‘bulldog’) which is necessary for the fettling of the puddling furnace.
6. plural. An old name of the Snap-dragon (Antirrhinum).
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the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular cultivated or ornamental plants > particular flower or plant esteemed for flower > [noun] > foxglove and allied flowers > snapdragon
calves'-snout1548
antirrhinum1551
snapdragon1573
lion's snap1597
lion's mouth1706
frog's mouth1754
dog's mouth1824
toad's mouth1839
Bunny Mouth1846
dragon's-mouth1857
bulldogs1861
poor man's torment1899
1861 A. Pratt Flowering Plants & Ferns Great Brit. IV. 124 Great Snapdragon..Bull-dogs, Lion's-snap..are also old names of the plant.
7.
a. bulldog forceps n. ‘Forceps with a spring catch..the extremity of one blade pointed, of the other notched, for the reception of the point’. New Sydenham Soc. Lexicon
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the world > health and disease > healing > medical appliances or equipment > surgical instruments > [noun] > forceps
tenaclesc1400
tongsc1425
raven's bill1446
parrotbill1598
duck's bill1601
swan's bill1631
forceps1634
beaks1656
volsella1684
tenaculum1693
rostrum1722
crane's-bill1753
porte-aiguille1830
volsellum1851
vulsellum1863
iris-forceps1874
speculum forceps1875
bulldog forceps1880
1880 W. MacCormac Antiseptic Surg. 166 He was led from the use of the old ‘bull-dogs’ to the convenient and powerful clamp forceps he has now employed.
b. Used (frequently attributive) of a clip or other fastening having a strong closure.A proprietary name in the United Kingdom.
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society > occupation and work > equipment > building and constructing equipment > fastenings > [noun] > catch
catch1398
clicket1487
snaphance1603
catch hook1695
snapc1815
catch lock1836
bulldog1908
1908 Sears, Roebuck Catal. No. 117. 204/3 Bull Dog Wire Grip. The more you pull the tighter it grips.
1923 Man. Seamanship II. 307 Special screw clamps, after the fashion of bull-dog grips.
1943 Trade Marks Jrnl. 26 May 224/2 (heading) Bulldog, B 620,897 metal clips being articles of stationery..6th Nov. 1942 [date of registration].
1944 ‘N. Shute’ Pastoral ii. 28 Messages and signal forms in bulldog clips.
1969 D. Clark Nobody's Perfect v. 153 Her invoices hung in large bulldog clips from hooks on the walls.
8. slang. A sugar-loaf.
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the world > food and drink > food > additive > sweetener > [noun] > sugar > loaf-sugar
loaf1363
sugar-loaf1422
loaf sugarc1440
steeple sugar-loaf1649
bulldog1819
titler1819
1819 J. H. Vaux New Vocab. Flash Lang. in Memoirs II. 160 Bull-dog, a sugar-loaf.
9. In full bulldog pipe. A short tobacco-pipe of brier-wood.
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the world > physical sensation > use of drugs and poison > tobacco > smoking > articles or materials used in smoking > [noun] > pipe > other types of pipe
calumet1717
pillow pipe1752
meerschaum1799
corn-cob pipe1832
bulldog1885
plague pipe1892
Peterson1906
shell-briar1972
1885 A. Edwardes Girton Girl I. iv. 84 The pipe was a black, ferociously Bohemian-looking ‘bulldog’.
1895 Army & Navy Co-op. Soc. Price List 134 Pipes. ‘Bull Dog.’ Briar, Horn or Vulcanite Stem.
1900 W. C. Morrow Bohemian Paris (new ed.) 306 Three-days-in-Paris English tourists wearing knickerbockers and golf-caps, and always smoking bulldog pipes.
1966 L. J. Braun Cat who could read Backwards (1967) v. 56 ‘I use a pipe.’ Qwilleran searched for his quarter-bend bulldog and his tobacco pouch.
10. bulldog edition, the earliest edition of a daily or Sunday newspaper. U.S.
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society > communication > journalism > journal > newspaper > [noun] > editions of newspaper
special edition1845
library edition1869
extra-special1889
airmail edition1923
bulldog edition1926
final1931
air edition1939
1926 Nation 13 Oct. 342/2 This story got into the bull-dog edition of one of the papers before he could finish his midnight rounds.
1934 D. Wilkie Amer. Secret Service Agent iii. 33 That night I took the bulldog edition with my spread to a restaurant where the newspaper men congregated.
Derivatives
ˈbulldoggy adj. Apparently an isolated use.
ΚΠ
1858 Chambers's Jrnl. 10 20 Tom..was an English youth of about my own age, but a great deal more bulldoggy.
ˈbulldogism n. Apparently an isolated use.
ΚΠ
1852 M. W. Savage Reuben Medlicott ii. vi He possessed the element of bulldogism also.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1888; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
bulldogv.
transitive. To attack like a bulldog; to assail or treat roughly; spec. to wrestle with and throw (a steer or other animal).
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the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > hostile action or attack > make an attack upon [verb (transitive)] > attack with hostile words or measures
fangc1320
hurtlec1374
impugnc1384
weighc1386
to fall upon ——a1398
to start on ——a1398
oppugn?1435
to lay to, untoa1500
onseta1522
wipe1523
to set against ——1542
to fall aboard——1593
aggress1596
to fall foul1602
attack1613
appugn1615
to set upon ——1639
to fall on ——1641
to lay home, hard, hardly to1650
tack1720
bombard1766
savage1796
to pitch into ——1823
to begin upon a personc1825
bulldog1842
to down on (also upon)a1848
to set at ——1849
to start on ——a1851
to start in on1859
set on at or to1862
to let into1872
to go for ——1890
swash1890
slog1891
to get at ——1893
tee1955
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > equestrian sports except racing > rodeo > compete in rodeo [verb (transitive)] > wrestle steer
bulldog1842
1842 Congress. Globe 29 Apr. 457/3 Mr. Whitney had not been ‘dogged’ to the door of the committee-room, but, when inside, he had been ‘bull-dogged’ with a vengeance.
1883 G. Meredith Let. 20 July (1970) II. 706 Greenwood..is bull-dogging France.
1897 Daily News 23 Sept. 3/3 For conspiring to injure, intimidate, blackmail, arrest, imprison, poison, and bull-dog me.
1907 Outing Dec. 329/1 ‘No more necked calves,’ they announced, ‘catch 'em by the hind legs, or bull-dog 'em yourself.’
1921 C. E. Mulford Bar-20 Three iii. 35 Me an' you ain't goin' to bulldog that gang at all. I am.
1953 R. Campbell Mamba's Precipice viii. 94 He wasn't as good as Antonio..in bulldogging them by the horns and throwing them on their sides.
Derivatives
ˈbull-ˌdogger n.
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society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > equestrian sports except racing > rodeo > [noun] > participants
bull rider1829
bull-dogger1907
steer roper1910
steer wrestler1910
header1927
heeler1927
pickup man1930
1907 S. E. White Arizona Nights (U.K. ed.) i. viii. 148 The two ‘bull-doggers’ immediately pounced upon the victim.
ˈbull-ˌdogging n. attacking in the manner of a bulldog; spec. wrestling with and throwing a steer or other animal.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > equestrian sports except racing > rodeo > [noun] > types of contest
bull-dogging1842
pony penning1877
steer bulldogging1910
steer wrestling1910
1842 Congress. Globe 4 May 478/1 I made the reply about bull-dogging for the gentleman from Virginia.
1907 S. E. White Arizona Nights (U.K. ed.) i. viii. 151 One of the men..reached well over the animal's [sc. a calf's] back to get a slack of the loose hide next the belly, lifted strongly, and tripped. This is called ‘bull-dogging’.
1924 Glasgow Herald 17 Jan. 9 The Society's efforts to stop steer-roping and bull-dogging.
1963 Times 7 Mar. 9/4 A wonderful exhibition of..bulldogging (leaping from a horse and throwing a running bull to the ground).
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1933; most recently modified version published online December 2020).
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n.?1518
v.1842