Cûr'tail-dŏg, n.
n. 1. The dog of a person not qualified to course, which by the forest laws must have its tail cut short, partly as a mark, and partly from a notion that the tail of a dog is necessary to him in running.
Sense 2. A common dog not meant for sporting, or one that has missed his aim. Nares.
Hope is a curtail-dog in some affairs. Shak.