“Hair of the dog” is an idiom that suggests drinking more alcohol to cure a hangover, but in reality, it can prolong the symptoms. The phrase originates from the belief that treating a dog bite required using fur from the dog that bit you. Idioms add expression and color to language, and their figurative meanings often diverge from their literal meanings. The phrase “hair of the dog” is still in popular use today.
“Hair of the dog” is an English idiom that refers to the practice of drinking more alcohol to cure a hangover. Some people believe that doing so will actually reduce hangover symptoms, although, in reality, drinking more alcohol can prolong the hangover. Using the “fur from the dog that bit you” means that someone is using the thing that caused the pain to heal them. The idiom has a historical basis, thanks to the antiquated belief that treating a dog bite required obtaining fur from the dog that administered the bite and applying it to the bite site.
Using idioms in speech is a way of adding further expression and color to otherwise mundane details. Idioms acquire figurative meaning through popular usage in a culture, and this figurative meaning often diverges greatly from both the origins of the phrase and the literal meaning of the words involved. As such, idioms hold significant colloquial power in the language. One such idiom is the ancient phrase “hair of the dog,” which is still in popular use today.
If someone uses this idiom, it means that someone, whether the speaker or a person they are addressing or referring to, is suffering from a hangover. A hangover occurs when someone drinks too much alcohol, causing alcohol poisoning withdrawal symptoms that can include headaches and nausea. There is a belief that drinking a little alcohol can actually cure a hangover, or at least reduce its severity. This leads to someone getting “dog hair”.
For example, imagine someone had too much to drink the night before and is feeling the effects of a hangover this morning. She might say, “I can’t stand these headaches anymore; let me try some of the dog’s hair to ease the pain”. The implication in the sentence is that he will drink more alcohol to cure the alcohol pain in the first place.
In most cases with idioms, the origins come from something that actually occurred or was even in common practice at some point in the past. This particular idiom refers to the mistaken belief that treating a dog bite required taking fur from the dog that made the bite and applying that fur to the wound. That’s why the idiom is often used in its full form, “hair of the dog that bit you.”
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