hair of the dog

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. The use of the phrase as a metaphor for a hangover treatment dates at least to the 16ᵗʰ century. 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 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.A Primer on Ugaritic, p. 121. Cambridge University Press, 2007. →ISBN.

• "Near-synonyms: coffin dodger, corpse reviver, pick-me-up, eye-opener; see also Thesaurus:alcoholic beverage"
• "I'll be right back. I just need a little hair of the dog that bit me."
• "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.""
• "Ha ha! Put a good face upon it, and drink again. Another hair of the dog that bit you, captain!"
• "The good times are killing me / Enough hair of the dog to make myself an entire rug"

• coffin dodger
• corpse reviver
• pick-me-up
• eye-opener
• adult beverage
• alcohol
• bevvy
• booze
• carouse
• drink
• fuddling
• grog
• hard drink
• libation
• liquor
• lush
• nightcap
• potation
• potent potable
• sauce
• shot
• strong drink
• strong water
• tiddly
• tincture
• tipple

• doghair
• dog fur
• dogfur
• pelt of the dog
• a man about a dog