English Reference
Idiom idiom

dog's breakfast


An unappealing mixture; a disorderly situation; a mess.

Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.


SIMPLE

The report was a total dog's breakfast.

CONTEXTUAL

The team tried to fix the software, but they ended up making a dog's breakfast of the entire project.

COMPLEX

Despite his best intentions to organize the archives, the resulting filing system was nothing more than a dog's breakfast of misplaced documents and broken folders.


Related idioms8entries
  1. 01

    buy a dog and bark oneself

    To do something that one has hired someone else to do.

  2. 02

    call off the dogs

    To ease up on after inflicting great punishment.

  3. 03

    cat and dog life

    An unhappy married life marked by arguments and disagreements.

  4. 04

    dog and cat

    A team comprising one male and one female, either working as associates or having one as the second-in-command to the other.

  5. 05

    dog and pony show

    Any presentation or display that is overly contrived or intricate, while lacking real substance.

  6. 06

    dog around

    To follow diligently.

  7. 07

    dog in the hunt

    Something that may lead to gain, depending on the outcome; a position for which to campaign or cheer.

  8. 08

    dog in the manger

    Someone who denies to others something that the denier cannot use.

Last updated August 10, 2026