The dog days are the hot, sticky weeks of summer when the weather feels heaviest and most uncomfortable. In the Northern Hemisphere, this typically means late July and early August, when the sun beats down relentlessly and even the shade feels warm. During the dog days, people move more slowly, dogs lie panting in whatever cool spot they can find, and everyone dreams of swimming pools and ice cream.

Today, people use dog days to describe any period that feels slow, lazy, or a bit stagnant. A teacher might talk about the dog days of the school year, those draggy weeks before summer vacation when students struggle to focus. A baseball team in August might be in the dog days of the season, playing game after game in the heat. The phrase captures the feeling of enduring something difficult while waiting for relief.