What's So Doggone Doggy About August? These days, we're in a lazy, hazy, crazy daze.

Hot enough for you? Phew! We now find ourselves in the dog days of summer. That's a phrase for the sultry, hot days from July to September (in the Northern Hemisphere), when life seems to slow to a crawl. Nobody feels much like doing anything. Kids whine and mope, dogs pant, and grown-ups just want to climb into a hammock and nap.

But why are they called dog days? Is it because the muggy heat makes us act like dogs, sleeping and panting the day away? Well, that's a good reason. But there's a better explanation.

Hot Canines The ancient Romans called the days from late July to late August the caniculares dies (days of the dogs). They named the sultry weather after Sirius, the Dog Star, the brightest star in the heavens besides the sun. (In Latin, the star is named Canicula, which explains why the dog days of summer are also called canicular days. See the root word for canine in there?)

Sirius is found in the constellation Canis Major, or Big Dog. Along with Canis Minor, the Little Dog, it is one of Orion's hunting dogs in the night sky of Greek mythology. The name Sirius comes from the Greek word seirios, which means "scorcher."

The ancients believed that when Sirius rose at sunrise, it added heat to the sun, making for especially hot days on Earth. Those times were called dog days.

Mad Dogs and an EnglishmanIn 1813, an Englishman named John Brady published Clavis Calendaria, an "analysis of the calendar." He characterized the dog days as an evil time when "the sea boiled, the wine turned sour, dogs grew mad, and all other creatures became languid; causing to man ... burning fevers, hysterics, and phrensies [frenzies]."

Remember, they didn't have air-conditioning back in those days.

Today, our dog days no longer correspond to Sirius's rise in the morning sky. Changes in Earth's orbit over the centuries have thrown off any connection between the star and the summer weather. And of course, the ancient theory about the star's heat wasn't correct in any case.

So, in short, the heat of August has nothing whatsoever to do with Sirius, the Dog Star.

Or with hot dogs, for that matter. Unless you want to throw some on the grill. Mmmm, summer!

Vocabularysultry—oppressively hot and humid
mad—insane
languid—lazy, weak from exhaustion, sluggish

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