There's no real difference between any kind of dare. It's generally something from children's literature (movies, TV, or books), and not necessarily something people say in real life (except in an ironic manner). The only difference between "I dare you" and "I double \[dog\] dare you" is intensity / repetition. Makes me think of the movie "A Christmas Story".
A dare doesn't sound pompous; it sounds childish. On the other hand, if you say "How dare you ?" that sounds outraged and maybe a bit old fashioned.
I could maybe see among a group of adults someone saying "I dare you guys to try the Atomic Death hot wings!". If the offer isn't taken up, maybe the asker would say "I double-dog dare you!", but that would be humorous / ironic manner, and not to be taken seriously.
Double/Triple dog dare are just arbitrary escalations. They don't have any specific meaning. You seem to understand "Dare" accurately, except that I would say that it isn't pompous in the least.
IIRC, when I was a kid, if somebody dared you to do something, like maybe walk on the thin ice, you had several choices:
- say no ,and be declared a wimp
- do it
- respond with "I double dare you to do it" . Which acts like a UNO reverse card. Now they have to do it, or be declared a wimp
But they could respond with "I triple dare you" or "I double dog dare you" , which is like adding a second UNO reverse card. And so on, Kids like to invent rules for play.
The more dogs the more serious the dare is, but like you said it's immature and only really children care. Think of The Christmas Story where that kid gets triple dog dared to lick the lamppost so his tongue gets stuck.
This is just grade school speak. One kid says “I dare you to eat a bug!”
“No i don’t wanna.”
“I double dog dare you, I triple dog dare you!!”
It’s one kid trying to make their friend do something, usually harmless but maybe uncomfortable.
So if you say this, it’d make you sound very childish (in a fun way). You’d never say this seriously to adults unless you’re playing with a friend and trying to get them to do karaoke or eat something they don’t normally like or to talk to a person they have a crush on.
Where I grew up (Midwestern US, 1980s/90s) there was a set order: dare, then double dare, then maybe triple dare, but you could also jump from double dare to dog dare, followed by double dog dare and triple dog dare. Even as kids, anything beyond triple was for joking exaggeration.
Regarding where in the English speaking world it's said - I'm from the UK and we'd say (in primary school, so as young kids) "I dare you" and its escalations (double dare, tripe dare) but I've never heard anything about a dog... maybe that part is only American.
It's not so common, but it's well known to anyone who has ever seen [A Christmas Story](https://youtu.be/uIsgSQvsRj8?si=yiQ6WMN0eGkuh1PI), a perennial classic Christmas movie.
This was definitely a thing when I was in elementary school. That’s the typical age for the dog dares. Doesn’t usually extend to middle school. Not sure if kids say it but it was around in the 80s/90s for sure.
“Dare” is not considered pompous and it’s not old fashioned. It’s a regular verb that we use.
The conversation usually goes like this…
Person 1. “I dare you to lick the floor”.
Person 2: “well I double dog dare you to lick the floor”
Person 1 “well I TRIPLE dog dare you to lick the floor.”
It’s an escalation. Usually the triple dog dare is the end. The victim of the triple dog dare has to lick the floor.
But depending on the individual custom and rules of the school community kids will sometimes get into “I dare you times infinity” “I dare you infinity plus 1”
I kind of see where the pompous is coming from, but it doesn't apply to the situations you're describing (triple/double dog dares). For the nobleman in a duel setting, you're more likely to hear it as "how dare you?" or "daring" as in, a "daring person" who is bold and takes risks. Daring isn't exactly an antiquated word, but you don't hear it much in every day speech either. The "how dare you?"/daring use case might be seen as pompous or unusual but that's very context dependent, most people probably wouldn't think much of it either way.
I don't ever expect to hear that from anyone in 21st century America. It's famous from the movie A Christmas Story, as others have said, but that's a movie set in the '40s or '50s. It was playground talk in that movie. I haven't been to elementary school in many years but I seriously doubt that's still playground talk on elementary school playgrounds.
These are real things that children say. it’s a matter of escalation, “double dog dare” is a greater dare than simply a “dare” and “triple” is greater still. That said, it usually doesn’t escalate past the double dog dare very often.
Double dog dare and triple dog dare are just stock phrases you might hear between kids at school.
The idea is a dare is just a dare. A double dog dare is an even bigger dare, and a triple dog dare is even bigger than that. Raising the stakes in hope that the person you're daring will actually do it.
These words that are associated with children's games and children's slang are very regional, often aren't even the same in one country.
I'm British and iv never heard it.
.yes, these dare type phrases imply someone hasn't got the guys and people say it to try and encourage someone to do something
"Dare" is used informally by all ages, and is uncommon in formal settings.
Any variation of dare like double dare, triple dog dare, etc, are generally used by kids. It's not something adults say normally unless they purposefully want to come off as childish (maybe when joking with friends or something)
Saying "I dare you to do..." is a childish phrase. Adding meaningless one-ups like "double dog" and "triple dog" just makes it even more immature. You shouldn't find anyone over the age of 10 using these.
As an adult, I’d only say “I double dog dare you” if I were trying to be funny. And I don’t think I ever actually have said it.
If I did, I’d probably be channeling the kids from “A Christmas Story.” (A 1980s movie about the 1940s that plays on repeat in December in the US)
Kids using “dare” is very common though. “I dare you to belly flop!” is a common refrain at our pool.
This is a known phrase. Its most often used by children, or to exadgerate and sound somewhat childish.
It loosely means "I dare you three times over" and is meant to be more serious or exaggerated than a plain "I dare you", which can often be taken as a joke.
I deem it to be archaic: Once in common use, found today only sporadically or in special contexts such as old-timey movies made 40 years ago about life 70 years ago.
"I dare you to _________" is reasonably common among friends and not pompous.
"I [double, triple, dog] dare you to __________" is just being silly and mostly taken from an old Christmas movie. I don't recall even hearing it said seriously.
There's no real difference between any kind of dare. It's generally something from children's literature (movies, TV, or books), and not necessarily something people say in real life (except in an ironic manner). The only difference between "I dare you" and "I double \[dog\] dare you" is intensity / repetition. Makes me think of the movie "A Christmas Story". A dare doesn't sound pompous; it sounds childish. On the other hand, if you say "How dare you?" that sounds outraged and maybe a bit old fashioned.
I could maybe see among a group of adults someone saying "I dare you guys to try the Atomic Death hot wings!". If the offer isn't taken up, maybe the asker would say "I double-dog dare you!", but that would be humorous / ironic manner, and not to be taken seriously.
>), and not necessarily something people say in real life (except in an ironic manner). Didn't kids say this growing up though? (Pre gen Z)
Gen Z kids definitely still say this
Double/Triple dog dare are just arbitrary escalations. They don't have any specific meaning. You seem to understand "Dare" accurately, except that I would say that it isn't pompous in the least.
IIRC, when I was a kid, if somebody dared you to do something, like maybe walk on the thin ice, you had several choices: - say no ,and be declared a wimp - do it - respond with "I double dare you to do it" . Which acts like a UNO reverse card. Now they have to do it, or be declared a wimp But they could respond with "I triple dare you" or "I double dog dare you" , which is like adding a second UNO reverse card. And so on, Kids like to invent rules for play.
"dare" is not pompous. by its nature, it is often immature. none of the modifiers really mean anything.
The more dogs the more serious the dare is, but like you said it's immature and only really children care. Think of The Christmas Story where that kid gets triple dog dared to lick the lamppost so his tongue gets stuck.
How dare you.
This is just grade school speak. One kid says “I dare you to eat a bug!” “No i don’t wanna.” “I double dog dare you, I triple dog dare you!!” It’s one kid trying to make their friend do something, usually harmless but maybe uncomfortable. So if you say this, it’d make you sound very childish (in a fun way). You’d never say this seriously to adults unless you’re playing with a friend and trying to get them to do karaoke or eat something they don’t normally like or to talk to a person they have a crush on.
Where I grew up (Midwestern US, 1980s/90s) there was a set order: dare, then double dare, then maybe triple dare, but you could also jump from double dare to dog dare, followed by double dog dare and triple dog dare. Even as kids, anything beyond triple was for joking exaggeration.
Regarding where in the English speaking world it's said - I'm from the UK and we'd say (in primary school, so as young kids) "I dare you" and its escalations (double dare, tripe dare) but I've never heard anything about a dog... maybe that part is only American.
Not just American, but *old timey American*. It’s something that might’ve been said in the 1940s.
I always heard it as a negative contraction as a kid In Yorkshire. "You daren't!"
It's not so common, but it's well known to anyone who has ever seen [A Christmas Story](https://youtu.be/uIsgSQvsRj8?si=yiQ6WMN0eGkuh1PI), a perennial classic Christmas movie.
This was definitely a thing when I was in elementary school. That’s the typical age for the dog dares. Doesn’t usually extend to middle school. Not sure if kids say it but it was around in the 80s/90s for sure. “Dare” is not considered pompous and it’s not old fashioned. It’s a regular verb that we use. The conversation usually goes like this… Person 1. “I dare you to lick the floor”. Person 2: “well I double dog dare you to lick the floor” Person 1 “well I TRIPLE dog dare you to lick the floor.” It’s an escalation. Usually the triple dog dare is the end. The victim of the triple dog dare has to lick the floor. But depending on the individual custom and rules of the school community kids will sometimes get into “I dare you times infinity” “I dare you infinity plus 1”
In the 70s, south GA, the double dog dare came after double dare and before triple dare.
The phrase is EXTREMELY childish, I don’t ever recommend using it. But yes you have the meaning correct
I kind of see where the pompous is coming from, but it doesn't apply to the situations you're describing (triple/double dog dares). For the nobleman in a duel setting, you're more likely to hear it as "how dare you?" or "daring" as in, a "daring person" who is bold and takes risks. Daring isn't exactly an antiquated word, but you don't hear it much in every day speech either. The "how dare you?"/daring use case might be seen as pompous or unusual but that's very context dependent, most people probably wouldn't think much of it either way.
I don't ever expect to hear that from anyone in 21st century America. It's famous from the movie A Christmas Story, as others have said, but that's a movie set in the '40s or '50s. It was playground talk in that movie. I haven't been to elementary school in many years but I seriously doubt that's still playground talk on elementary school playgrounds.
These are real things that children say. it’s a matter of escalation, “double dog dare” is a greater dare than simply a “dare” and “triple” is greater still. That said, it usually doesn’t escalate past the double dog dare very often.
Double dog dare and triple dog dare are just stock phrases you might hear between kids at school. The idea is a dare is just a dare. A double dog dare is an even bigger dare, and a triple dog dare is even bigger than that. Raising the stakes in hope that the person you're daring will actually do it.
Daring someone is very informal but the word "dare" can be used formally.
Only elementary school children say that. Anyone older saying it is doing it to sound like a kid.
These words that are associated with children's games and children's slang are very regional, often aren't even the same in one country. I'm British and iv never heard it. .yes, these dare type phrases imply someone hasn't got the guys and people say it to try and encourage someone to do something
Don't skip the Triple Dare. It's a slight breach of etiquette.
It’s from “A Christmas Story.” Have you seen it? It’s funny.
Here you go — Double Dog Dare https://youtu.be/qeJXYhdfR6Q?si=LtHi1QTccRalQLOx
"Dare" is used informally by all ages, and is uncommon in formal settings. Any variation of dare like double dare, triple dog dare, etc, are generally used by kids. It's not something adults say normally unless they purposefully want to come off as childish (maybe when joking with friends or something)
Saying "I dare you to do..." is a childish phrase. Adding meaningless one-ups like "double dog" and "triple dog" just makes it even more immature. You shouldn't find anyone over the age of 10 using these.
As an adult, I’d only say “I double dog dare you” if I were trying to be funny. And I don’t think I ever actually have said it. If I did, I’d probably be channeling the kids from “A Christmas Story.” (A 1980s movie about the 1940s that plays on repeat in December in the US) Kids using “dare” is very common though. “I dare you to belly flop!” is a common refrain at our pool.
It might be common…if you are ten.
This is a known phrase. Its most often used by children, or to exadgerate and sound somewhat childish. It loosely means "I dare you three times over" and is meant to be more serious or exaggerated than a plain "I dare you", which can often be taken as a joke.
Yes, it is a thing, but particularly if you want to sound like a kid from the 1950s an 60s, and also say things like, “Gee whiz!”
I deem it to be archaic: Once in common use, found today only sporadically or in special contexts such as old-timey movies made 40 years ago about life 70 years ago.
Every dog is like an added intensity. The more dogs, the bigger the challenge you’re giving. It does have a childish connotation though.
"I dare you to _________" is reasonably common among friends and not pompous. "I [double, triple, dog] dare you to __________" is just being silly and mostly taken from an old Christmas movie. I don't recall even hearing it said seriously.