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# hair of the dog

phrase (noun phrase, idiom: the hair of the dog; full form «the hair of the dog that bit you»)

«hair of the dog» in the English dictionary: in the primary school — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## In the primary school

Source: Mova's pupils' dictionary. Licence: [Elamur Cosmic License](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/docs/LICENSE/). Reviewed: the dictionary the pupils of Mova's primary school read; its examples quote the lessons and public-domain tales. Ships with Mova.

### Meaning

1. (euphemism, humorous) an alcoholic drink taken the morning after drinking too much, as a supposed cure for a hangover.
2. (figurative) a cure that uses a little of the thing that caused the problem.

### In the lessons

Jokey adult phrase that excuses drinking again; informal, all regions. It is not a real cure: doctors say it only delays the hangover. The phrase comes from an old belief that dog-bite wounds were healed by the dog's hair.

### Examples

- "I'll just have a hair of the dog," said Uncle Mike at breakfast.
- Hair of the dog doesn't really cure a hangover.
- He ordered a hair of the dog after the party.
- The doctor said hair of the dog is a myth.
- In the comedy, the hero drinks the hair of the dog and feels worse.
- Grandad calls his morning beer "the hair of the dog".
- Hair of the dog that bit you is an old saying.
- Water and rest are better than the hair of the dog.

### Note

Trap: nothing to do with real dogs or hair. It is a myth that it cures hangovers. Plain meaning: another drink to cure the effects of the last ones.