dogging it. Not working up to potential; deliberately slowing down or exerting less than possible effort; malingering.
“This expression originated in sports and soon was transferred to other endeavors,” avers Christine Ammer. Unfortunately, she offers no specifics.
In some circumstances one is expected—or at least pressured by co-workers—to dog it. One of my first jobs was a temporary one inventorying parts for a sewing machine assembly plant. In order to avoid boredom, I set a steady pace. By lunch, more than one of my fellows had asked me to slow down so as not to make them look like poor workers in comparison. Partly, they did not want to work so hard, and in part, they wanted the job, and therefore the pay, to last as long as possible. |
1. Ammer, Christine. 1997. The American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. |