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What does Meat for the dogs mean? it's from a play called Frankenstein

Victor: I shall need a steady supply of internal organs.
Ewan: Very good, sir.
Rab: Organs!
Ewan: Quiet, Rab. Meat for the dogs. Nothing you’re not familiar with.
Creature: Was this how I was formed? Stolen at night from wet soil? Made out of meat for the dogs? Even I can feel disgust! Will he fashion me a beauty, from this filth? And will I want her, stinking of death?

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  • This question is not complete. It needs a careful description of the source, and more context. With what you give us I'd have to assume it means "flesh of animals to be fed to the canines". In fact it is probably a metaphor and its not a particular slang expression, so you should understand it in context.
    – James K
    May 3, 2020 at 13:54
  • @JamesK It's from Frankenstein
    – user103409
    May 3, 2020 at 13:59
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    Presumably Ewan is implying that Rab is familiar with feeding offal to dogs.
    – Kate Bunting
    May 3, 2020 at 14:17

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It's from a play based on Mary Shelley's novel. And it means "cheap meat to be given to dogs"

Ewan is telling Rab not to be upset by the grave-robbing. The human organs are nothing worse than cheap meat, of the kind you feed to dogs.

The creature repeats this verbatim, wondering if life is valued so little.

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Meat for the dogs, is an outdated construction. In current usage it is more common to hear the terms "dog food" or "dog meat".

Dog meat is a slang term that can be used as a noun or an adjective.

In artistic circles it is used to describe the artistic product of someone who is classically trained, but who is humbled into churning out schlock such as designing the label for an inferior quality of dog food.

Dog meat could refer to the product, the artist, or the meager pay the artist receives.

Dog meat could also be used to refer to a soldier on a battlefield that has no chance of survival.

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  • This does not answer the question OP meant to ask. He clearly meant "What does it mean in this context" since he provided the script. Please update this answer to include your own thoughts rather than a list of definitions with no sources.
    – Micah Windsor
    Jun 2, 2020 at 23:41

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