# Pile of what? A study of pigs and dogs in various parts of the USA. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 21, 2002, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pile-of-what-a-study-of-pigs-and-dogs-in-various-parts-of-the-usa/124835 "2002-08-21T01:44:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![hixofthehood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/90db22/32.png) [@hixofthehood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hixofthehood)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2002, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pile-of-what-a-study-of-pigs-and-dogs-in-various-parts-of-the-usa/124835/1 "2002-08-21T01:44:23Z")
Yes. _ahem_ Well hello. None of you know me but I have a question that has been brought to discussion and this is the highest collection of knowledgeable minds in the world. I have a friend from the state of Rhode Island that says that “PigPile!” is what one yells when a large group of people piles on top of someone or something, such as in football. Everyone I have ever known otherwise says that the popular term is “DogPile!” Does anyone know where dog pile and/or pig pile came from or what either means? Has anyone ever heard of pigpile being used this way? The information I have gathered so far states the following: PigPile has largely to do with Microsoft. DogPile is a popular search engine. Pig Pile is a fairly odd card game. This action in Rugby is reffered to as a “Scrum.” ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2002, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pile-of-what-a-study-of-pigs-and-dogs-in-various-parts-of-the-usa/124835/2 "2002-08-21T02:49:30Z")
I’ve never heard of a pigpile before, but what do you expect from Rhode Island and the Providence Plantations? I first learned it as a “monkeypile.” ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2002, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pile-of-what-a-study-of-pigs-and-dogs-in-various-parts-of-the-usa/124835/3 "2002-08-21T02:58:14Z")
Pigpile in CT. Especially prevalent during games of Kill the Man With the Ball. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2002, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pile-of-what-a-study-of-pigs-and-dogs-in-various-parts-of-the-usa/124835/4 "2002-08-21T03:06:48Z")
Dogpile and monkeypile in southeast Michigan (lo these thirty years gone). I’ve never heard of pigpile. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2002, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pile-of-what-a-study-of-pigs-and-dogs-in-various-parts-of-the-usa/124835/5 "2002-08-21T03:11:00Z")
Pile-on in Carl Erskine’s home town. –Nott ---
**Author:** ![partly\_warmer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bc8723/32.png) [@partly\_warmer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/partly_warmer)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2002, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pile-of-what-a-study-of-pigs-and-dogs-in-various-parts-of-the-usa/124835/6 "2002-08-21T03:55:30Z")
In North California, it’s only “dog pile”. The term doesn’t make sense in any obvious way. I assumed it meant: Jumping on top of a bunch of guys who were grabbing for something, with no expectation of actually getting it yourself. With an emphasis on “This is dumb, but it’s going to be a lot of fun to get mashed up.” And sure enough, it was. Humans are a strange breed. ---
**Author:** ![kniz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@kniz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kniz)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2002, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pile-of-what-a-study-of-pigs-and-dogs-in-various-parts-of-the-usa/124835/7 "2002-08-21T05:15:41Z")
Sounds like it should be called “Head over asshole”, but I guess that is something else. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc348/32.png) [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2002, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pile-of-what-a-study-of-pigs-and-dogs-in-various-parts-of-the-usa/124835/8 "2002-08-21T05:19:38Z")
Dogpile across Canada for over 50 years for me, though I’ve never seen an actual dogpile and curious as to the origin of the word. ---
**Author:** ![hixofthehood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/90db22/32.png) [@hixofthehood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hixofthehood)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2002, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pile-of-what-a-study-of-pigs-and-dogs-in-various-parts-of-the-usa/124835/9 "2002-08-22T01:29:01Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by partly\_warmer \* > \*\*In North California, it’s only “dog pile”. > > The term doesn’t make sense in any obvious way. I assumed it meant: Jumping on top of a bunch of guys who were grabbing for something, with no expectation of actually getting it yourself. With an emphasis on “This is dumb, but it’s going to be a lot of fun to get mashed up.” And sure enough, it was. Humans are a strange breed. \*\* I’ve always had loads of fun with it, and thanks for pointing that out. Whenever we did it, it was always for the sheer enjoyment of being smashed, big or little, squished, squishing or both. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2002, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pile-of-what-a-study-of-pigs-and-dogs-in-various-parts-of-the-usa/124835/10 "2002-08-22T01:49:05Z")
According to a quick check of Lighter (Random House Historical Dictionary of American Slang), _dogpile_ first appears in print in 1945. Interestingly, it must have been a common enough word, as there was a _Merrie Melodies_ cartoon which said(in 1947) “It’s a rabbit! Dog-pile on the rabbit!” _Monkeypile_ he doesn’t list. Unfortunately, he stops at the letter “O” which precludes a cite for _pigpile_. But I’m working on it! ---
**Author:** ![hixofthehood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/90db22/32.png) [@hixofthehood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hixofthehood)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2002, 10:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pile-of-what-a-study-of-pigs-and-dogs-in-various-parts-of-the-usa/124835/11 "2002-08-22T10:12:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by samclem \* > \*\*According to a quick check of Lighter (Random House Historical Dictionary of American Slang), _dogpile_ first appears in print in 1945. Interestingly, it must have been a common enough word, as there was a _Merrie Melodies_ cartoon which said(in 1947) “It’s a rabbit! Dog-pile on the rabbit!” > > _Monkeypile_ he doesn’t list. Unfortunately, he stops at the letter “O” which precludes a cite for _pigpile_. > > But I’m working on it! \*\* I was looking for a slang dictionary but I couldn’t find it. Lighter. Thanks.