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Hacer perro muerto. About its origins

Authors

Vol. 56 No. 2 (2021)

Abstract

By means of this article we try to illuminate the motivation of a phraseologism used colloquially in Chile: hacer perro muerto ‘sneak out of a restaurant without paying for consumption’. In order to attain this, American and Hispanic lexicographic data are examined, and a diachronic corpus of our language is consulted. It is concluded that the phrase parallels with amarrar un perro ‘to pay not a debt’, registered in Costa Rica and Andalusia. Both phraseologisms (hacer perro muerto and amarrar un perro) denote actions that deceive hospitality or trust, and a similar motivation is found in both: they are literally ways of harming or neutralizing someone’s else guardian animal.

Keywords:

etymology, phraseology, Chilean Spanish, American Spanish

Author Biography

Mauricio Fuenzalida E., Universidad de Chile

Para correspondencia dirigirse a Mauricio Fuenzalida E., mfuenzal@uchile.cl, Departamento de Lingüística, Avda. Ignacio Carrera Pinto 1025, Ñuñoa, Santiago de Chile.

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How to Cite
Fuenzalida E., M. (2021). Hacer perro muerto. About its origins. Boletín De Filología, 56(2), pp. 353–375. Retrieved from https://revistaestudiostributarios.uchile.cl/index.php/BDF/article/view/65736
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Boletín de Filología
Facultad de Filosofía y Humanidades
Universidad de Chile
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