Most of us remember from grade school that a homonym is a word that has different meanings despite it being spelled the same way for each definition.

Alaskan Malamutes and American Eskimo Dog owners, for example, will know “breeching” as a reference to the long and thick hair on the outside rear of a dog’s thighs, but not below its hock joints). In some other breeds (i.e. the Australian Cattle Dog and Small Munsterlander,  “breeching” refers to a weather resistant outer coat that is short and straight with medium texture and a short dense undercoat.

We came across yet another definition for the word in the AKC’s book on Purebred dogs from 1929: Breeching: The tan-colored hair on the inside and back thighs of the Manchester Terrier.  The word doesn’t appear in the current Manchester’s breed standard, perhaps because of another definition we found in an old dog book that describes breeching as “the undesirable intermingling of tan hair among black hair on the outside of the hind legs, particularly noted in breeds like the Manchester Terrier.”

Manchester Terrier by feeferlump/Deposit

The Manchester’s AKC standard offers more clarity on the presence, and location, of tan on this breed: From the standard: “There is a black “thumb mark” patch on the front of each foreleg at the pastern. The remainder of the foreleg is tan to the carpus joint. There is a distinct black “pencil mark” line running lengthwise on the top of each toe on all four feet. Tan on the hind leg should continue from the penciling on the toes up the inside of the legs to a little below the stifle joint. The outside of the hind legs is black. There is tan under the tail and on the vent but only of such size as to be covered by the tail.

Image: Portrait painting by Frances C. Fairman (1836-1923), of Monkeyano, a Manchester Terrier. Oil on canvas