“Dog Water” – Its Meaning, Origin & Usage
If you are part of the gaming community, then you may have heard the expression “dog water” before.
But what does dog water mean? And where does the term come from? In this article, we explore the origin of “dog water”, its meaning and how it is typically used.
The Meaning of Dog Water
The term “dog water” simply means “rubbish” or “trash” in slang. It is an expression that is usually used to refer to a player’s skill level on the gaming platform Fortnite.
Fortnite is a shooter game with multiple players where different teams compete and shoot each other until one team survives.
If you are playing a team that is much worse than you, then you can refer to this team as “dog water”.
This is a tactic to discourage and humiliate the weaker team to gain further headway in the game.
The phrase “dog” water is also a more polite way of mentioning “dog shit” without being censored for using profanities on the game chat.
The term is also more commonly used on other platforms now, such as Twitch and TikTok, where it has the same meaning of “being trash” or simply terribly bad.
“Dog water” can also be used outside of the online community, for either the same use or simply to describe dog urine or dog feces.
Examples of Dog Water
There are a large variety of examples in game chats, game forums and other platforms where users use the phrase “dog water”.
This is mostly in combination with derogatory language and humiliating phrases to demotivate their opponent.
“You are just trying you make us look stupid by with your unranked player game. You have no skills and you are absolutely dog water.”
You can also find that unknown teams or new teams are occasionally referred to as “dog water”, such as in the following example.
“These guys must be new or just plain bad. Why are they competing against us if they are new? They are just dog water.”
However, the expression is mostly used to indicate a player’s or team’s skill set which is so bad that the game isn’t fun anymore.
“Your game is so dog water. I don’t know why you want to play against us when your team is so rubbish. Taking all the fun out of the game!”
Players also use the term “dog water” to big themselves up and make their skills look better than their opponent team.
“Your strategy and skills are absolutely garbage. We do much better than the dog water game you have shown so far.”
Other Ways to Say Dog Water
There are a lot of other slang terms that you can use instead of “dog water”, including rubbish, trash, rot or garbage.
You can also use non-slang terms, such as low-skilled, bad, inexperienced, amateur or rookie.
This being said, as the expression “dog water” originates from the online community where a lot of slang is used, you can get the best ways to say “dog water” from other slang terms.
Alternatively, you can also consider the other meaning of “dog water” which may refer to dog urine or dog feces.
Origins of Dog Water
The term “dog water” comes from the online gaming community, especially from the popular online gaming platform Fortnite.
The platform is a big online gaming community on the market and it is used by thousands of players every day.
The expression “dog water” showed up in a chat for the first time in 2020 where it was used as a euphemism for “dog shit”.
However, Fortnite doesn’t allow any inappropriate language and profanity. That’s why, their chat algorithm changed the term to “dog water”.
This makes it effectively one of the many new terms created by an algorithm. In fact, it is part of an entirely new language known as “algospeak”.
Algospeak is typically used by any gamers or anyone who wants to use a type of profanity but escape profanity censorship on platforms, such as Fortnite, Twitch or TikTok.
The Urban Dictionary picked the term “dog water” up in December 2020 with the definition of “when you’re absolute garbage at a video game”.
As this insulting expression gained more popularity, other popular online users started to use “dog water” on TikTok, YouTube and other social media platforms.
Final Thoughts
The phrase “dog water” may have originated from the biggest online gaming platform in the world, but it has gained popularity also on other channels.
Some people also have started using slang words, such as “dog water” offline amongst their friends.
This being said, the term is mostly known by teenagers and young adults who are part of the gaming community. However, even if you are not a gamer, you will likely understand the context.
