pelt of the dog

noun

An immoderate, excessive quantity of alcohol drunk the morning after whilst suffering withdrawal symptoms or a hangover, which goes beyond alleviating the complaint to causing drunkenness; compare hair of the dog.

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Meanings

noun
  1. humorousidiomaticrareAn immoderate, excessive quantity of alcohol drunk the morning after whilst suffering withdrawal symptoms or a hangover, which goes beyond alleviating the complaint to causing drunkenness; compare hair of the dog.

    There were people — maybe two dozen — in the Knight’s Bar, for lunch, resuscitation, or the pelt of the dog that bit them. Not Yvonne, though. A bit early.

    1949: Philip Wylie, Opus 21: Descriptive Music for the Lower Kinsey Epoch of the Atomic Age: A Concerto for a One-Man Band, Six Arias for Soap Operas, Fugues, Anthems & Barrelhouse, page 325 ^〃 (Rinehart)

Origin

Alteration of hair of the dog, substituting hair with pelt, thus implying far greater quantity.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

pelt of the dog. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pelt%20of%20the%20dog

MLA

“pelt of the dog.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pelt%20of%20the%20dog. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “pelt of the dog,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pelt%20of%20the%20dog.

Source: pelt of the dog on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.