Meanings
- idiomaticuncountableAn alcoholic drink, particularly when taken the morning after to cure a hangover.
I'll be right back. I just need a little hair of the dog that bit me.
4 more examples
Near-synonyms: coffin dodger, corpse reviver, pick-me-up, eye-opener; see also Thesaurus:alcoholic beverage
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."
1818, Sir Walter Scott, chapter 12, in Rob RoyHa ha! Put a good face upon it, and drink again. Another hair of the dog that bit you, captain!
1841, Charles Dickens, chapter 52, in Barnaby RudgeThe good times are killing me / Enough hair of the dog to make myself an entire rug
2004, Modest Mouse, “The Good Times Are Killing Me”, in Good News for People Who Love Bad NewsSynonyms: coffin dodger, corpse reviver, pick-me-up, eye-opener, adult beverage, alcohol, bevvy, booze
Synonyms & antonyms
nounAn alcoholic drink, particularly when taken the morning after to cure a hangover.
Origin
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.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Chinese Mandarin 回魂酒
- 回魂酒curing drink
Czech spravovák, vyprošťovák
- spravovákcuring drink
- vyprošťovákcuring drink
Danish reparationsbajer
- reparationsbajercuring drink
Finnish krapularyyppy, loiventava
- krapularyyppycuring drink
- loiventavacuring drink
- korjaussarjacuring drink
French rallumer la chaudière
- rallumer la chaudièrecuring drink
German Konterbier, Konterschnaps
- Konterbiercuring drink
- Konterschnapscuring drink
- Reparaturseidlcuring drink
- Mageneinrenkercuring drink
Hebrew כוסית התאוששות, כוסית של הבוקר שאחרי
- כוסית התאוששותcuring drink
- כוסית של הבוקר שאחריcuring drink
Hungarian kutyaharapást szőrével, gyógysör
- kutyaharapást szőrévelcuring drink
- gyógysörcuring drink
Icelandic afréttari
- afréttaricuring drink
Japanese 迎え酒
- 迎え酒 (mukaezake)curing drink
Korean 해장술
- 해장술 (haejangsul)curing drink
Norwegian Bokmål oppstiver
- oppstivercuring drink
Polish klin
- klincuring drink
Russian опохме́лка
- опохме́лка (opoxmélka)curing drink
Scottish Gaelic leigheas na pòit
- leigheas na pòitcuring drink
Swedish återställare
- återställarecuring drink
Cite this entry
hair of the dog. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hair%20of%20the%20dog
“hair of the dog.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hair%20of%20the%20dog. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “hair of the dog,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hair%20of%20the%20dog.
Source: hair of the dog on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.