Hair of the dog

"Hair of the dog" is a colloquial expression in the English language predominantly used to refer to alcohol that is consumed with the aim of lessening the effects of a hangover.

Etymology

The expression originally referred to a method of treatment of a rabid dog bite by placing hair from the dog in the bite wound.Ebenezer Cobham Brewer writes in the Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898): "In Scotland it is a popular belief that a few hairs of the dog that bit you applied to the wound will prevent evil consequences. Applied to drinks, it means, if overnight you have indulged too freely, take a glass of the same wine within 24 hours to soothe the nerves. 'If this dog do you bite, soon as out of your bed, take a hair of the tail the next day.'" He also cites two apocryphal poems containing the phrase, one of which is attributed to Aristophanes. It is possible that the phrase was used to justify an existing practice, and the idea of Latin: similia similibus curantur ("like cures like") dates back at least to the time of Hippocrates and exists today as the basic postulate of classical homeopathy. In the 1930s cocktails known as Corpse Revivers were served in hotels.

Hair of the dog (disambiguation)

Hair of the dog is a colloquial English expression describing a cure or treatment for an alcohol-induced hangover.

Hair of the dog may also refer to:

An album:

A song:

Hair of the Dog (album)

Hair of the Dog is the sixth studio album by the Scottish hard rock band Nazareth, released in 1975. The album was recorded at Escape Studios, Kent, with additional recording and mixing at AIR Studios, London, and is the band's biggest selling album, having sold two million copies worldwide.

After three albums with Deep Purple's Roger Glover producing, Manny Charlton stepped into that position, one he filled for several subsequent albums.

It was Nazareth's first big hit album (aside from the minor success of Razamanaz), including classics such as the title track, "Love Hurts" (on the US version, but not the Canadian/European, it replaced the original "Guilty"), "Beggars Day" and "Please Don't Judas Me".

The album title is often considered to be a shortened form of the phrase describing a folk hangover cure, "the hair of the dog that bit you". However, according to Dan McCafferty, the title is a play on "heir of the dog", i.e. a "son of a bitch". This was the title the band had intended for the album, but the label did not approve and had the name changed.