WordWealth: canine

ca·nine , adj.

Rebranding expert Dominic Thrust replies: I always think rebranding is much the best way to escape from the canine compound. At one time, Conservatives in the north-east, aware that the concept of Conservatism put people off in that region, adopted a different name to fight under. Today's Tories should do the same. —— Smallweed; Rebranded Progessives Meet Dancing Procrastinators; Guardian; Jan 25 2003

He barks at you. You say "No" again. He flings the rope toy around like Sid Blumenthal with a small bush pig (albeit Sid can dislocate his jaw for large prey). You yell, "No!"

Dejected, your canine sulks and whines as he looks over his shoulder one more time, expectantly. Your heart melts a bit, but you stand firm and say one more time: "No."

He walks away.

One minute later, he comes back with a slobbered-up sock and says, "Okay, let's play tug of war with this!"

This is called "negotiating in the spirit of bipartisanship." —— Jonah Goldberg; The Trouble with Bipartisanship; Sometimes compromise equals defeat; National Review; June 26, 2001

He has selected nominees from the Taliban wing of American politics, appeased the wretched appetites of the extreme right wing, and chosen Cabinet officials whose devotion to the confederacy is nearly canine in its uncritical affection. —— Julian Bond, speaking to the national NAACP convention, July 2001

Yet of all the fancy dogs that the fashion tribe indulges with $50 massages and $225 Burberry trench coats, perhaps the most desirable is one frequently mistaken, even by canine aficionados, for a common mutt. Fashionistas love things that look ordinary but really aren't -- just as they lust after Salvation Army castoffs ''redesigned'' by Imitation of Christ. In fashion, being fabulous means flying way below the radar. And you can't get any lower to the ground than skipping through the Bryant Park tents with a kromfohrländer in tow.

 —— Rene Chun; A Breed Apart; New York Times; Feb 24, 2003