# US as a "running dog" - huh?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-as-a-running-dog-huh/146145>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [January 2, 2003, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-as-a-running-dog-huh/146145 "2003-01-02T04:00:06Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\
**Post date:** [January 2, 2003, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-as-a-running-dog-huh/146145/1 "2003-01-02T04:00:06Z")

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With North Korea in the news again, I’ve been spending a bit of time Googling around to find out more about the shy DPRK regime.

One thing that I’ve found is a lot of propaganda from various communist countries in Asia, where the United States is referred to as a “capitalist running dog,” “imperialist running dog,” “evil running dog,” and so on.

What significance does the phrase “running dog” have among Asian cultures, where it seems like it’s universally applied to the United States as an insult?

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**Author:** ![Reeder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Reeder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeder)\
**Post date:** [January 2, 2003, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-as-a-running-dog-huh/146145/2 "2003-01-02T04:05:01Z")

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WAG…

A dog running away is showing cowardice…

Running dog=coward.

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**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\
**Post date:** [January 2, 2003, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-as-a-running-dog-huh/146145/3 "2003-01-02T04:18:50Z")

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One etymological list claims this:

> [@](#):
>
> Running dog is from Chin. and N.Korean communist phrases used from c.1950 to describe supposed imperialist lackeys, cf. Mandarin zou gou “running dog,” on the notion of a dog that runs at its master’s command.

[http://www.geocities.com/etymonline/r6etym.htm](http://www.geocities.com/etymonline/r6etym.htm)

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**Author:** ![Lissa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lissa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissa)\
**Post date:** [January 2, 2003, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-as-a-running-dog-huh/146145/4 "2003-01-02T06:47:22Z")

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In a lot of countries (Iraq, for example) a dog is a creature which has very low status. To call someone a dog is much like calling them a piece of shit . . . a low, foul thing of little worth.

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**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\
**Post date:** [January 2, 2003, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-as-a-running-dog-huh/146145/5 "2003-01-02T07:15:13Z")

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The [first context sentence](http://216.232.71.251/~larry/miscpics/running_dogs.gif) under the entry for _running_ in my beloved Cultural Revolution era [english-chinese dictionary](http://216.232.71.251/~larry/maoist/) supports the etymology supplied by **yabob**.

> [@](#):
>
> –Imperialism and its running dogs.

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**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\
**Post date:** [January 2, 2003, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-as-a-running-dog-huh/146145/6 "2003-01-02T13:24:51Z")

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Think I’ve got it … thanks, all!