dog-ear \DAWG-eer\,
verb:
1. To fold down the corner of a page in a book.
noun:
1. (In a book) a corner of a page folded over like a dog's ear, as by careless use, or to mark a place.
2. In architecture, another term for a crossette.
This was uncharacteristic of him, territorial as he was over books, always reminding me not to dog-ear pages.
-- Kaye Gibbons, "Sights Unseen"
I will dog-ear the pages, maybe even fill out the order form, but I won't get anything.
-- Elizabeth Berg, "Until the Real Thing Comes Along"
Dog-ear as a metaphor for the folded pages of a book first appears in the 1650s.
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