Feeling slow and sluggish in these hot late summer days? Die Hundstage, which sounds like this, is a colloquial word that refers to the hottest summer period in Europe, roughly between July 23rd and August 23rd. Hundstage literally means 'dog days', an expression that you may already be familiar with. The expression dog days, along with its German counterpart Hundstage, come from this tradition. That's why the Hundstage may feel like the sluggish and hottest period of the year even if the records don't always show that.