bulldog edition

noun

The earliest edition of a periodical publication, especially a daily newspaper.

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Meanings

nounbulldog edition (plural bulldog editions)

plural bulldog editions

  1. USjournalismThe earliest edition of a periodical publication, especially a daily newspaper.

    In journalism, a "bulldog edition" is an edition of a daily newspaper printed early for transportation to distant points.

    1970 June 10, “Today in History”, in Owosso Argus-Press, Michigan, USA, retrieved 14 Sep 2012, page 23
    3 more examples

    The Detroit Mirror, morning tabloid, which has been under the same ownership as The Chicago Tribune and The New York Daily News, suspended publication with its early bulldog edition today.

    1932 August 5, “The Detroit Mirror, a Tabloid, Suspends”, in New York Times, retrieved 14 Sep 2012

    Larry Holmes marched into view at 20 minutes before the hour of 11 a.m. . . . The guys with the cameras could snap away, and everybody would have a story for the 6 O'Clock News or the bulldog edition.

    1980 October 2, Bruce Keidan, “Ali-Holmes strike out before bout”, in Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, retrieved 14 Sep 2012, page 9

    He took us on evening walks. […] On the way home, he'd stop at the corner next to the subway stop, get the bulldog edition of the Inquirer and chat with the guy selling the papers.

    2008 April 10, Chris Matthews, “Philly Politicos Kick it Old-School”, in Time

Origin

Uncertain. One popular theory is that competition mainly drove the term; publishers "fought like bulldogs" to "get out editions that would catch the mails going out of town." Another theory suggests that it comes from the nautical term dogwatch (“evening shift”), as printers had to work late in the evening to put out an early edition for the morning paper. Numerous other theories have been proposed.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

bulldog edition. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bulldog%20edition

MLA

“bulldog edition.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bulldog%20edition. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “bulldog edition,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bulldog%20edition.

Source: bulldog edition on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.