man bites dog

phrase

man bites dog

phrase

Etymology Shortened version of a phrase attributed to various 19th-century journalists: "When a dog bites a man, that is not news, because it happens so often. But if a man bites a dog, that is news."

1

Journalism, Media A situation that is worth reporting on because it is unusual or bizarre.

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.