prairie dog

noun

any of several burrowing rodents of the genus Cynomys, of North American prairies, having a barklike cry: some are endangered.

prairie dog

any of several gregarious sciurine rodents of the genus Cynomys, such as C. ludovicianus, that live in large complex burrows in the prairies of North America Also calledprairie marmot

An Americanism dating back to 1765–75

For example, southeast south-east; gray grey; prairie dog prairie-dog.

Here and there, he would show me where a snake, a rat, and a prairie dog had crossed the track.

The coyote and badger could easily lie flat behind the mound and spring upon the prairie-dog when he comes out of his hole.

The ground was not adapted to the crop that generally grew in a prairie-dog town.

But for this nice little family arrangement, the last prairie-dog would long since have been unearthed and eaten.

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