As selfish as a dog in a manger: this self-gratifying dog is found lying on the hay originally intended for the hard-working horses, and you, the witness, can only gaze in horror. In Horror, but not shock; not shock as you could have expected no less from a dog as selfish as this. You do not feel shock for the selfishness of this dog just as I feel none for the ignorance of the person in the shop last week who labelled me ‘as selfish as a dog in a manger.’ While I failed to give this encounter much thought…