Useful English Word or Phrase to Boost Your English: Dog's dinner

What does it mean?

A mess; something done badly.

Is it positive or negative?

Negative.

When do you use it?

Use it when something looks messy or chaotic.

Examples

Example 1: It was a complete dog's dinner and we had to start again.

Example 2: The manager called it a dog's dinner, but we laughed it off.

Question for you

When would you use "Dog's dinner" in real life?

Are you looking for English speaking practice online?

Dogs dinner describes something messy or badly done. We practise blunt but natural phrases in online English lessons with a British native speaker. For more criticism, see rubbish. Find out more here.