dog's ear

A student carefully unfolds the dog's ear on the corner of his textbook page.

Definition

1. Noun:

   • A turned-down corner of a page in a book or document: "dog's ear" refers to a folded or creased corner of a page, often used as a marker or resulting from careless handling.
   • A page with such a fold: The term can also describe the page itself that has a folded corner.

2. Verb (rare, derived from the noun):

   • To fold down the corner of a page: To create a "dog's ear" by bending the corner of a sheet of paper, typically in a book.

Usage Examples

• Noun:

  • He marked his place in the novel with a dog's ear. (He folded down a corner of the page to remember where he stopped reading.)
  • The old textbook had many dog's ears from years of use. (The textbook had many folded page corners due to frequent handling.)

• Verb:

  • She dog's-eared the page to save her spot. (She folded the corner of the page down as a bookmark.)

Advanced Usage

• "to have a dog's ear": to possess a folded corner on a page.

  • The library book had a dog's ear on the chapter about history. (The book had a folded corner on that specific page.)

• "to dog's ear a book": to fold down corners of pages in a book, often considered a mark of disrespect or carelessness.

  • He dog's-eared the entire novel, making it look worn and messy. (He folded many page corners, damaging the book's appearance.)

Variants and Related Words

• Dog-ear (n, v): a common variant of "dog's ear," used interchangeably.
  • She made a dog-ear on the recipe page. (She folded the corner of that page.)
• Dog-eared (adj): describing a book or page that has many folded corners.
  • The dog-eared paperback showed signs of heavy reading. (The book had many folded page corners from frequent use.)

Synonyms

• Fold: a bend or crease in paper.
• Curl: a rounded or spiral shape, often used for page corners.
• Turn-down: a folded-down part of a page.

Phrasal Verbs

• Dog-ear (something): to fold down the corner of a page.
  • Please don't dog-ear the library books; use a bookmark instead. (Do not fold the corners of the library books.)

Related Idioms

• "Dog's ear" is not typically used in idioms, but it is a literal term for a page fold.