Acronym Required Acronym Required observes science and technology. By a.r.e. on October 20, 2011 6:18 PM © 2004-2017 AcronymRequired. It's a well known strategy they say . But how well known is it if the world's biggest encyclopedia doesn't even have an entry? Anyway, it goes like this. Say you're the owner of a dog who's just bitten someone. If you're a chuff, churl or cretin -- or even your average defensive citizen -- you deny it via the so called "Four Dog Defense". Here's how one lawyer explained it to the St. Petersburg Times in 1997 1 : First of all, I don't have a dog. And if I had a dog, it doesn't bite. And if I had a dog and it did bite, then it didn't bite you. And if I had a dog and it did bite, and it bit you, then you provoked the dog." The St. Petersburg Times article wasn't actually about a dog, but about the landmark tobacco cases. ...