Definition
An animal or person with an especially nasty and combative demeanor.
Origins
From junkyard + dog. The literal sense was popularized by the song Bad, Bad Leroy Brown (1973) by Jim Croce (see citation below).
In Context
- "Badder than old King Kong / And meaner than a junkyard dog"
- "House minority whip . . . Gingrich has earned enmity in abundance for his junkyard-dog tactics."
- ""I'm gonna hire me a lawyer," he said. "A real junkyard dog.""