why is called hair of thedog

[daisydook]

why is it called the hair of the dog!

[ICEMANSAV]

They used to call being drunk as the dog that bit you and so therefore by having a drink when hungover you were taking a bit of the dog back or taking a hair of the dog! Sounds daft but that is the terminology.

[Quizmonster]

According to Scottish legend, if you were bitten by a dog, the best cure for the wound was to place some of the guilty animal's hair on it. (There could actually be valid medical reasons for such a procedure...after all, putting spider-webs on wounds hastens healing.) This idea of curing like with like is how the phrase came to be associated with taking alcohol to get rid of the effects of drinking the same stuff!

[Glossopswift]

I found that it never actually cured the hangover, just postponed it for a while. Still worth doing, though - see if you can postpone it for several years. I find that a very hot curry is the best hangover cure.

[Bob A Job]

I thought it came from an old wivestail about if your were bit by a dog and didnt want to get rabies your burnt some of the dogs hair to stop going mad.

 

Stupid, but so are most superstitions