Meanings
alternative like a scalded cat
- simileWith great rapidity.
Shoot, Sniffer jerked away and took off like a scalded dog.
2010, R. Harper Mason, Lyin' Like a Dog1 more example
More often, he would buck like a scalded dog. If I could keep him circling in one direction, I could ride him. If I ever turned his head loose, he'd generally pile drive me again and disappear out from under me.
2012, Jean Larremore, Self-Portrait of a Texas Cowboy: Ass Over Teakettle, page 54
Translations
Swedish som en skållad råtta
- som en skållad råttawith great rapidity
Cite this entry
like a scalded dog. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/like%20a%20scalded%20dog
“like a scalded dog.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/like%20a%20scalded%20dog. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “like a scalded dog,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/like%20a%20scalded%20dog.
Source: like a scalded dog on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.