Quick links
bird dog
DCHP-2 (Jun 2017)
Spelling variants:birddog, bird-dog, Bird Dog
1n. — also used as an adjective; Forestry
a small airplane used as a guide for water bombers.
Type: 5. Frequency — Given the size and economic value of Canada's forests, the location and management of wild fires is vital. The term bird dog, used to refer to planes that guide water bombers, is a semantic adaptation from the word used for dogs trained to locate and retrieve birds shot in a hunt. US attestations appear as early as 1953 in The New York Times. The term, in all meanings, is most common in Canada (see Chart 1) and shows a wide spread across the country, with BC standing out somewhat (see Chart 2).
See COD-2, s.v. "bird dog" (3), which labels the meaning "Cdn".
See COD-2, s.v. "bird dog" (3), which labels the meaning "Cdn".
Quotations
1965
Fifty per cent of this number was stationed in the
Prince George and Prince Rupert Forest Districts and
included helicopters, water bombers: patrol aircraft and "bird dogs".
1976
The local Forest Service has lent two air tankers and a Bird Dog plane to fight forest fires in Ontario.
1988
Scout planes - twin-engine Cessna-310s, called bird-dogs by the fire fighters - direct the larger water bombers to targets as fire hopscotches through the forest.
1996
Caroline Nestor is a bird-dog pilot, fearlessly skimming a feather-light plane over tree tops around forest fires.
2010
A spokesman for the Transportation Safety Board said the agency was investigating and hoped the crew aboard another aircraft that was shadowing the water bomber - a position known as the "bird dog" - will be able to help them learn why the plane went down.
2†v. — North American
to conduct a search; to act as a scout, especially in sports.
Type: 3. Semantic Change — This meaning evolved from the literal meaning of a 'gun dog trained to retrieve birds' and applies the term to a sports context, where coaches or teams will scout for new players.
See also COD-2, s.v. "bird dog" (2), which is marked "N Amer.", OED-3, s.v. "bird-dog" (v.), which is marked "N. Amer. colloq.".
See also COD-2, s.v. "bird dog" (2), which is marked "N Amer.", OED-3, s.v. "bird-dog" (v.), which is marked "N. Amer. colloq.".
Quotations
1977
First was Jack McDonald, scouting for Vancouver Canucks. His talent-seeking career goes back to the end of the Second World War, when he bird-dogged for the Leafs between stints as a car salesman for the late Doughty brothers, Harry and Frank, at their agency on Avenue Road.
3†v. — North American
to pursue with dogged determination; to pester.
Type: 3. Semantic Change — This meaning evolved from one of the main attributes of bird-dogs, trained to retrieve birds shot when hunting. Often, these dogs are required to go through a variety of terrains and, if trained well, are undeterred by obstacles.
See also OED-3, s.v. "bird-dog" (v.), which is marked "N. Amer. colloq.".
See also OED-3, s.v. "bird-dog" (v.), which is marked "N. Amer. colloq.".
Quotations
1987
"There is some question as to whether this is not a criminal offence" to secretly tape-record third parties without informing them, Scotton said.
"Here is a first minister of Canada being bird-dogged secretly by an agent of another level of government when they're having meetings at which they're supposed to be dealing with each other on a basis of honesty and straightforwardness."
1995
What is certain is that the Pattison organization, used to running a $3-billion-a-year food, auto and communications conglomerate without being bird-dogged by pesky outside shareholders, is provoking investors as it applies close-to-the-vest, hard-edged Pattison style to what was once one of the most widely held public companies in Canada.
2005
This kind of in-your-face politicking isn't new to Gendron. Last year, he put himself and his town on the map when he tried to enforce a curfew on local teens, and when the mills died, he took to the road in his wife's car and bird-dogged politicians in Ottawa and Quebec City for aid.
References
- OED-3
- COD-2
Images
Chart 1: Internet Domain Search, 15 Jan. 2016
