Phrase guide

hair of the dog

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

noun

Meaning 1

An alcoholic drink, particularly when taken the morning after to cure a hangover.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: idiomatic, uncountable

Examples

  • 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.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: 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

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

an alcoholic drink supposed to cure a hangover

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: drink

History

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. 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.

Across languages

Translations

26 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Mandarin: 回魂酒 — curing drink
  • Czech: spravovák — curing drink
  • Czech: vyprošťovák — curing drink
  • Danish: reparationsbajer — curing drink
  • Faroese: javnari — curing drink
  • Finnish: krapularyyppy — curing drink
  • Finnish: loiventava — curing drink
  • Finnish: korjaussarja — curing drink
  • French: rallumer la chaudière — curing drink
  • German: Konterbier — curing drink
  • German: Konterschnaps — curing drink
  • German: Reparaturseidl — curing drink
  • German: Mageneinrenker — curing drink
  • Hebrew: כוסית התאוששות — curing drink
  • Hebrew: כוסית של הבוקר שאחרי — curing drink
  • Hungarian: kutyaharapást szőrével — curing drink
  • Hungarian: gyógysör — curing drink
  • Icelandic: afréttari — curing drink
  • Japanese: 迎え酒 (mukaezake) — curing drink
  • Korean: 해장술 (haejangsul) — curing drink
  • Norwegian Bokmål: oppstiver — curing drink
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: oppstivar — curing drink
  • Polish: klin — curing drink
  • Russian: опохме́лка (opoxmélka) — curing drink
  • Scottish Gaelic: leigheas na pòit — curing drink
  • Swedish: återställare — curing drink