If you’re of Scottish extraction, chances are good that that your family name has (or had) a coat of arms or family crest. If you’re of English ancestry, the chances are even better.  Talbots appeared frequently on such crests (say, if you were a Wolseley, Gooch or Talbot), and if you are a Campbell, it was probably a Bloodhound. The Hinslips had Foxhounds on their coat of arms while the Andersons had a water spaniel. A book of heraldry suggests that almost everyone else sported a Greyhound. Because we want you to win at Jeopardy the next time Alex calls you, here’s something to know about the positions of dogs on these coats of arm. A dog that’s springing forward is aid to be “salient.” When the dog seems to be walking (also known as trippant), the dog is “passant.” And finally, a dog that is in full speed is “courant.” In the case of a Foxhound, if it’s nose is to the ground, it’s termed, “a hound on scent.”

And now you know.