bird-dog

noun
- a gundog trained to hunt or retrieve birds

phrasal verb (informal)
- to follow, watch carefully, or investigate
- to try hard to find out as much information as you can about something, especially when the information is not easy to get

Merriam-Webster / Random House Dictionary / Cambridge Dictionary

—
WORD ORIGIN

People began using "bird-dog" as a verb meaning “to closely watch someone or something” or “to doggedly seek out someone or something” in the early 20th century. Both meanings reflect skills likely to be possessed by a well-trained bird-dog — that is, a hunting dog trained to hunt or retrieve birds.

The determination of bird-dogs and and their will to seek out and track without giving up led to the figurative sense of "bird-dogging" – such as an investigative journalist in pursuit of a story, a paparazzi chasing a celebrity, or a researcher who spends years searching for the cure to a disease.

—
TEST YOUR ANIMAL COMPARISONS

You may already know the comparatives “as SICK as a DOG”, or “as FREE as a BIRD”, but do you also know these common phrases? (scroll down for answers)

- as BUSY as a ——

- as BLIND as a ——

- as BRAVE as a ——

- as DRUNK as a ——

- as EAGER as a ——

- as GENTLE as a ——

- as HUNGRY as a ——

- as PLAYFUL as a ——

- as POOR as a ——

- as PROUD as a ——

- as QUIET as a ——

- as SCARED as a ——

- as SLY as a ——

- as STUBBORN as a ——

- as WISE as an ——

---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---

- as BUSY as a BEE

- as BLIND as a BAT

- as BRAVE as a LION

- as DRUNK as a SKUNK

- as EAGER as a BEAVER

- as GENTLE as a LAMB

- as HUNGRY as a HORSE

- as PLAYFUL as a KITTEN

- as POOR as a CHURCH MOUSE

- as PROUD as a PEACOCK

- as QUIET as a MOUSE

- as SCARED as a RABBIT

- as SLY as a FOX

- as STUBBORN as a MULE

- as WISE as an OWL

—
SYNONYMS

- To pursue or follow someone or something:

bedog, be hot on someone’s heels, be on one’s tail, BIRD-DOG, camp on the doorstep of, chase (after/down), dig out (up), dog (the footsteps of), follow the trail of, get at, give chase, go in pursuit of, gun for, hound, hunt (down), investigate, keep an eye on (a tab on, a watch on, track of, under surveillance), lurk in the shadows, monitor, prowl after, put a tail on, run down, run to earth (to ground), shadow, sniff out, tail, track (down), tread on the heels of, worm out

—
SMUGGLE OWAD into an English conversation, say something like:

“We need to BIRD-DOG the competition to stay ahead of the game.”

—
HERZLICHEN DANK to all readers helping me keep OWAD alive with single or monthly donations at:

https://donorbox.org/please-become-a-friend-of-owad-

and,

Paul Smith, IBAN: DE75 7316 0000 0002 5477 40