Dog-days are coming

No, this isn't a reference to the dog cloning in Korea.
You can read about that scientific process in LexisNexis.

The dog-days I'm referring to are the Dog-Days of August. Where in the world did that phrase come from?

I looked in the Oxford English Dictionary On-line (yes, it's in GALILEO).
I found this definition:

1. The days about the time of the heliacal rising of the Dog-star; noted from ancient times as the hottest and most unwholesome period of the year. They have been variously calculated, as depending on the greater dog-star (Sirius) or the lesser dog-star (Procyon); on the heliacal, or (by some in modern times) the cosmical rising of either of these (both of which also differ in different latitudes); and as preceding, following, or both preceding and following, one of these epochs; and their duration has been variously reckoned at from 30 to 54 days. In the latitude of Greenwich, the cosmical rising of Procyon now takes place about July 27, that of Sirius about Aug. 11; in Mediterranean latitudes, the former is somewhat later, the latter earlier. The heliacal rising is some days later than the cosmical; and all the phenomena now take place later in the year than in ancient times, owing to the precession of the equinoxes. Thus very different dates have been assigned for the dog-days, their beginning ranging from July 3 to Aug. 15. In current almanacs they are said to begin July 3 and end Aug. 11 (i.e. to be the 40 days preceding the cosmical rising of Sirius).

So be prepared for hot and sticky and unpleasant!

Every citizen of Georgia can get the password to use GALILEO at home from their librarian. The resources mentioned in this blog are available through the NMTC portion of GALILEO and may not be available with the public library password.