(something) shouldn't happen to a dog
Something is so heinous or terrible that no creature should ever have to experience it. A brutal attack like that shouldn't happen to a dog. The politician reveals many personal tragedies in her autobiography, awful things that shouldn't happen to a dog. No wonder her kids don't speak to her—she totally neglected them as children, something that shouldn't happen to a dog.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
shouldn't happen to a dog
Fig. an expression of something that is so bad that no creature deserves it. Poor guy. That shouldn't happen to a dog. This cold I got shouldn't happen to a dog.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
shouldn’t happen to a dog
in. describes something that is so bad that no creature deserves it. This cold I got shouldn’t happen to a dog.
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.