Meanings
plural Old Yellers
- A situation in which something beloved must be killed or destroyed; a sad situation.
his kiss had felt like the Old Yeller of goodbyes
2025, Dakota Cassidy, Accidentally Ever After2 more examples
He looks at me as though he understands it all. As though he understands the Old Yeller of it all. Surely a Kavorkian compassion is called for?
2016, Paul Sexton, Machine Of Almosting, page 144It was his religion that caused the old Yeller of sayings. The Prophet Mohammed had killed all the dogs.
2018, Rehaad Baksh, A Concert of Lost Souls
Origin
From the eponymous dog in the novel Old Yeller and later film.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
Old Yeller. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Old%20Yeller
“Old Yeller.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Old%20Yeller. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Old Yeller,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Old%20Yeller.
Source: Old Yeller on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.