"have a dog in the fight" meaning in English

{
  "etymology_text": "In reference to dogfighting and its spectators.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "has a dog in the fight",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "having a dog in the fight",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "had a dog in the fight",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "had a dog in the fight",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "have<has,,had> a dog in the fight"
      },
      "expansion": "have a dog in the fight (third-person singular simple present has a dog in the fight, present participle having a dog in the fight, simple past and past participle had a dog in the fight)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "American English",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English negative polarity items",
          "parents": [
            "Negative polarity items",
            "Terms by semantic function"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 1 entry",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2006 October 1, Dennis Lehane, “Refugees” (00:32:06), in The Wire, season 4, episode 4:",
          "text": "Wilson: He's right. They endorse Royce, fine, 'the hell else they gonna do? But what they say and don't say from the pulpit the Sunday before the primary we still got a dog in that fight.\nCarcetti: I do this right, they respect it.\nWilson: An' if they don't, at least they get to see a beggin’-ass white man on his knees. Always a feel-good moment for the folks.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To have a personal stake in the issue."
      ],
      "id": "en-have_a_dog_in_the_fight-en-verb-61Eo1qjU",
      "links": [
        [
          "have",
          "have"
        ],
        [
          "personal",
          "personal"
        ],
        [
          "stake",
          "stake"
        ],
        [
          "issue",
          "issue"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(US, chiefly in the negative) To have a personal stake in the issue."
      ],
      "raw_tags": [
        "in the negative"
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "have a dog in the race"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "US"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "have a dog in the fight"
}

{
  "etymology_text": "In reference to dogfighting and its spectators.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "has a dog in the fight",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "having a dog in the fight",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "had a dog in the fight",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "had a dog in the fight",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "have<has,,had> a dog in the fight"
      },
      "expansion": "have a dog in the fight (third-person singular simple present has a dog in the fight, present participle having a dog in the fight, simple past and past participle had a dog in the fight)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "American English",
        "English entries with incorrect language header",
        "English lemmas",
        "English multiword terms",
        "English negative polarity items",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "English verbs",
        "Pages with 1 entry",
        "Pages with entries"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2006 October 1, Dennis Lehane, “Refugees” (00:32:06), in The Wire, season 4, episode 4:",
          "text": "Wilson: He's right. They endorse Royce, fine, 'the hell else they gonna do? But what they say and don't say from the pulpit the Sunday before the primary we still got a dog in that fight.\nCarcetti: I do this right, they respect it.\nWilson: An' if they don't, at least they get to see a beggin’-ass white man on his knees. Always a feel-good moment for the folks.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To have a personal stake in the issue."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "have",
          "have"
        ],
        [
          "personal",
          "personal"
        ],
        [
          "stake",
          "stake"
        ],
        [
          "issue",
          "issue"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(US, chiefly in the negative) To have a personal stake in the issue."
      ],
      "raw_tags": [
        "in the negative"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "US"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "word": "have a dog in the race"
    }
  ],
  "word": "have a dog in the fight"
}