Word of the Day

: June 29, 2008

jog trot

noun JOG-TROT

What It Means

1 : a horse's slow measured trot

2 : a routine habit or course of action

jog trot in Context

The weekly Friday-night dances provided the townsfolk with a few hours of respite from the jog trot of life.

Did You Know?

The jog trot is a kind of careful, deliberate trot that is sometimes required at horse shows, among other things. "Jog" is thought to have come from an alteration of "shog," a verb meaning "to shake" or "to jolt" and used primarily in dialect. "Trot" has been part of English since the 14th century. The phrase "jog trot," which first appeared in print in 1796, developed a figurative sense as well; it can refer to a steady and usually monotonous routine, similar to the slow, regular pace of a horse at a jog trot. There is a suggestion with the generalized sense that the action is uniform and unhurried, and perhaps even a little dull.

*Indicates the sense illustrated by the example sentence.