Attack dog

[Michael Quinion]

William Safire discusses "attack dog" in his NYT column this weekend,
quoting a first political figurative usage from 1976. This slightly
earlier example is from Newspaperarchive.com

1974 Sheboygan Press (Wisconsin) 7 Jan. 11/2 Agnew as attack dog
simply had to be pointed in the right direction.

and this related one from the previous year

1973 Press Gazette (Hillsboro, Ohio) 9 Oct. 9/7 He said that in some
instances the press "has prostituted itself" to the unidentified
"reliable sources." He cited the New York Times as being "an attack
dog" and the Washington press corps for "bias."


--
Michael Quinion
Editor, World Wide Words
E-mail: <editor at worldwidewords.org>
Web: <http://www.worldwidewords.org/>