dogsbody

Etymology

From dog + -s- + body. 1818, British navy slang, originally derogatory reference to unappetizing pease pudding (compare dog's breakfast), as if it were made of mashed dog meat. In 20th century applied to low-ranked sailors, thence menial servants in wider usage.

noun

1. (Britain) A person who does menial work, a servant.
   'Cause I, I wanna be anarchy! / No dogsbody! 1976, “Anarchy in the U.K.”, performed by Sex Pistols
   That's just Baldrick, my dogsbody. 1994, Blackadder (television production)
   Furthermore, there are still rather backward opinions in our society about the role of a translator. A translator is often regarded as a linguistic dogsbody. 1995, Paul Kussmaul, Training The Translator, John Benjamins Publishing Co, page 146

verb

1. To act as a dogsbody, to do menial work:
   Perhaps because, having been brought up in all those different countries and languages, and then studying economics of all things for just a year, followed by four years dogsbodying for a haulage company, he had never got any serious reading done. 1989, Tim Parks, Family Planning