Question: where does the term hair of the dog come from

title: Hair of the dog
text: 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 , as the idea of `` like cures like '' ( Latin : similia similibus curantur ) dates back at least to the time of Hippocrates . It exists today as the basic postulate of classical homeopathy . In the 1930s cocktails known as Corpse Revivers were served in hotels .