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Reader question: Does this sentence – He’s behaving like a dog in a manger – mean he’s selfish? Please explain. My comments: Yes, he who behaves like a “dog in a manger” is selfish. That is, if you don’t have a stronger word for it. The manger, of course, refers to the long, narrow container from which horses and cattle eat. A dog has no business there, and yet apparently some dogs do mess up the manger. This idiom is actually from the ancient Greek storyteller Aesop (who may or may not have written all of those famous fables but it scarcely matters now). In Aesop’s Fables, you’ll find the tale of The Dog in the Manger (LiteratureOnline.com): A Dog looking out for its afternoon nap jumped into the Manger of an Ox and lay there cosily upon the straw. But soon the Ox, returning from its afternoon work, came up to the Manger and wanted to eat some of the straw. The Dog in a rage, being awakened from its slumber, stood up and barked at the Ox, and whenever it came near attempted to bite it. At last the Ox had to give up the hope of getting at the straw, and went away muttering: “Ah, people often grudge others what they cannot enjoy themselves.” In Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte’s wonderful book of revenge and redemption, Isabella Linton once accused Catherine Linton, her sister-in-law, of being a “dog in a manger” when the latter became jealous of Isabella’s fond feelings for Heathcliff, Catherine’s childhood companion and lover. In the book, you’ll find these passages: | 
