# Forum Other Languages English for Russians - Изучаем английский язык Practice your English  Is it proverb or something like that : )

## ozanpress

I was reading a book and just ran across a phrase saying "I feel like a mongrel dog in July, only it´s October." What the author means by saying this? And is it okay to chage the word "only" with "but"? 
Thank you for any help.

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## OOH

This probably has something to do with the English phrase "Dog Days of summer". Dog Days are the hottest days of summer that begin in, you guessed it, July (at least in the Northern Hemisphere). They are called Dog Days because people believe the proximity of the star Sirius (the Dog Star) at this time was responsible for the hot weather.  
Here is an excerpt from Wikipedia:   

> Dog Days were popularly believed to be an evil time "when the seas boiled, wine turned sour, Quinto raged in anger, *dogs grew mad*, and all creatures became languid, causing to man burning fevers, hysterics, and phrensies" according to Brady’s Clavis Calendarium, 1813. [1]

 Dog Days - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia 
Therefore, to "Feel like a mongrel dog in July" means to feel antsy or riled up... generally just to be in a bad mood. 
Hope that helps. Some more context from the text would have helped to find out the precise meaning.

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