Main Piece:

Informant: “Oh yes, the hair of dog to treat your hangover. It means drinking the same liquor to get rid of your hangover.”

Background:

The informant is a 55-year-old man from Chicago, IL. Recently, this remedy was brought up when he was out to dinner and someone at the table was still struggling with a hangover and trying to decide whether or not to drink. The general consensus was that a drink of the same alcohol would help to cure the person’s hangover. He also said previously that it had been an effective treatment for himself in the past. The informant heard it in his youth, but does not remember exactly who related the knowledge to him.

Context:

Informant is my father. He recently visited Los Angeles, where I live, on vacation and said this folk knowledge when out to dinner one night.

My Thoughts:

“Hair of the Dog” is a commonly known folk remedy for a hangover, whose basis is in homeopathic magic. It alludes to the fact that like will treat like, so drinking the alcohol that caused your hangover will also be the only thing that can treat your hangover. I have never personally tried the method, see as I am below the drinking age, but many seem to attest to its success.