狗（最舊的一層）
這一支就是那隻狗本身，沒有比喻。
noun · C2
A dog, especially a mixed-breed one that looks rough or has no owner. The source marks this as a dialect use, so you meet it mostly in older writing.
雜種狗；野狗
核心畫面
One way to picture tyke: a , unowned dog trotting through a village. Nobody's idea of a fine animal, always somewhere it should not be, and hard to stay angry at for long. Every later use is a person put in that dog's place. Aim the picture at a grown man and it stings; aim it at a small child and it turns fond.
tyke 可以想成村子裡那隻沒人管的雜種狗。牠不漂亮、到處亂鑽、常出現在不該出現的地方，可是你也氣不了牠多久。後來的…更多收起
tyke 可以想成村子裡那隻沒人管的雜種狗。牠不漂亮、到處亂鑽、常出現在不該出現的地方，可是你也氣不了牠多久。後來的每一種用法，都是把人放進這隻狗的位置。放在大人身上，取的是「上不了檯面、沒教養」那一面，就成了罵人的話；放在小孩身上，取的是「亂跑惹事又讓人生不了氣」那一面，就變成寵溺的叫法。同一個畫面，換個對象，冷熱完全相反。From the word’s history
Wiktionary derives tyke from Middle English tike and Old Norse tik, a female dog, comparing Icelandic tik, Faroese tik and Swedish tik. The dog meaning is therefore the oldest layer, and the human uses sit on top of it.
Wiktionary 記錄 tyke 來自中古英文 tike、古北歐語 tík（母狗），並列出冰島語 tík、法羅語 tík、瑞典語 tik 作為同源字。也就是說，狗的意思是最底下的一層，用在人身上的意思都蓋在它上面。
Wiktionary entry 'tyke' (kaikki extract, source_ref kaikki:3f6f69a190036ae4:600386949:7931); etymology_text supplied in this packet
Three branches
小孩
那隻到處亂鑽的小狗換成一個小孩：一樣停不下來，一樣讓人氣不久。
noun · B2
A small child. The word is warm and joking, and it is often used about a child who is lively or a little naughty.
小鬼；小傢伙
用在大人身上
同一隻狗的畫面對準大人，取的就變成「粗野、上不了檯面」那一面。
noun · C2
A person seen as rough, rude, and badly brought up. This is an insult, and the source marks it as dated and mainly British.
粗鄙之人