Good Dog!

mutt

My dog was a mutt that we picked up off the street years ago.

A 'mutt' is a dog that has parents that are two different types of dogs.  It is a combination instead of a purebred dog. Notice the following:

1. This dog is actually a mutt.
   
2. We have a bunch of little mutt puppies.
   

sweet

He's very sweet and fun to play with.

'Sweet' used like this is another way to say nice. Notice the following:

1. Sometimes she is sweet, but sometimes she can be terrible.
   
2. He is a sweet boy but not very interesting.
   

do tricks

Can he do any tricks?

A 'trick' is an action that you teach your dog to do. This can be shaking hands or rolling over.  Notice the following:

1. He works in a circus teaching animals to do tricks.
   
2. I spent a lot of time teaching my dog to do tricks.
   

half the time

He does only one trick and he does it only maybe half the time.

If you do something 'half the time' you only do it fifty percent of the time, the other fifty percent of the time you don't do it. Notice the following:

1. Half the time you come to work late.
   
2. She spends half the time in the library.
   

falls over dead (or play dead)

We point a finger at him and go "bang, bang" and he plays dead.

When something 'falls over dead' it falls to one side because it is dead and can't stand up.  When an animal 'plays dead' it acts like it is dead and doesn't move. Notice the following:

1. Some animals play dead to escape predators.
   
2. If you eat that you will fall over dead.