Phrase guide
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
phrase
A situation that is worth reporting on because it is unusual or bizarre.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Topics: journalism, media
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
History
Shortened version of a phrase attributed to various 19th-century journalists: "When a dog bites a man, that is not news, because it happens so often. But if a man bites a dog, that is news."
Across languages
1 source translations are retained for this English entry.
