hair of the dog

English

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hair of the dog

Etymology

Ellipsis of hair of the dog that bit one, a folk remedy for rabies by placing hair from the dog that bites one into the wound.^[1]^[2] The use of the phrase as a metaphor for a hangover treatment dates at least to the 16^th century.^[3]

The principle of “curing like with like” has existed in various cultures historically; see hair of the dog at Wikipedia for details; the use of the phrase “hair of the dog” for a hangover cure dates to antiquity, an early form being found in the Ugaritic text KTU^[4] 1.1114 line 29, where the chief god of the pantheon, 'i/el, takes some for his health. The usage is in turn a borrowing from Akkadian.^[5]

Pronunciation

Audio (General Australian): (file)

Noun

hair of the dog (uncountable)

(idiomatic) An alcoholic drink, particularly when taken the morning after to cure a hangover.
Synonyms: coffin dodger, corpse reviver, pick-me-up

I'll be right back. I just need a little hair of the dog that bit me.
- 1818, Sir Walter Scott, chapter 12, in Rob Roy:
  But with the morning cool repentance came. I felt, in the keenest manner, the violence and absurdity of my conduct, and was obliged to confess that wine and passion had lowered my intellects. . . . I descended to the breakfast hall, like a criminal to receive sentence. . . . [H]e poured out a large bumper of brandy, exhorting me to swallow "a hair of the dog that had bit me."
- 1841, Charles Dickens, chapter 52, in Barnaby Rudge:
  Ha ha! Put a good face upon it, and drink again. Another hair of the dog that bit you, captain!
- 2004, Modest Mouse (lyrics and music), “The Good Times Are Killing Me”, in Good News for People Who Love Bad News:
  The good times are killing me / Enough hair of the dog to make myself an entire rug

Related terms

pelt of the dog (rare, humorous)

Translations

curing drink

Chinese:
Mandarin: 回魂酒
Czech: spravovák m, vyprošťovák (cs) m
Danish: reparationsbajer c
Faroese: javnari m
Finnish: krapularyyppy (fi), loiventava, korjaussarja
French: rallumer la chaudière (fr)
German: Konterbier n, Konterschnaps m, Reparaturseidl n, Mageneinrenker m
Hebrew: כוסית התאוששות, כוסית של הבוקר שאחרי
Hungarian: kutyaharapást szőrével (hu), gyógysör
Icelandic: afréttari (is) m
Japanese: 迎え酒 (むかえざけ, mukaezake)
Korean: 해장술 (haejangsul)
Norwegian:
Bokmål: oppstiver m

Nynorsk: oppstivar
Polish: klin (pl) m (lit. wedge)
Russian: опохме́лка (ru) f (opoxmélka)
Scottish Gaelic: leigheas na pòit m
Swedish: återställare (sv) c

References

^ Hair of the dog on MedTerms
^ Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898): “In Scotland it is a popular belief that a few hairs of the dog that bit you applied to the wound will prevent evil consequences. Applied to drinks, it means, if overnight you have indulged too freely, take a glass of the same wine next morning to soothe the nerves. ‘If this dog do you bite, soon as out of your bed, take a hair of the tail in the morning.’”
^ "Poil de ce chien" in François Rabelais' 16th century pentology La Vie de Gargantua et Pantagruel, Book 5, Chapter XLVI
^ KTU means “Keilalphabetische Texte aus Ugaric” (Cuneiform Alphabet Text from Ugarit)
^ W.M. Schniedewind, J.H. Hunt, A Primer on Ugaritic, p. 121. Cambridge University Press, 2007. →ISBN.

[1] Hair of the dog on MedTerms

[2] Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898): “In Scotland it is a popular belief that a few hairs of the dog that bit you applied to the wound will prevent evil consequences. Applied to drinks, it means, if overnight you have indulged too freely, take a glass of the same wine next morning to soothe the nerves. ‘If this dog do you bite, soon as out of your bed, take a hair of the tail in the morning.’”

[3] "Poil de ce chien" in François Rabelais' 16th century pentology La Vie de Gargantua et Pantagruel, Book 5, Chapter XLVI

[4] KTU means “Keilalphabetische Texte aus Ugaric” (Cuneiform Alphabet Text from Ugarit)

[5] W.M. Schniedewind, J.H. Hunt, A Primer on Ugaritic, p. 121. Cambridge University Press, 2007. →ISBN.

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