Idiom
pelt of the dog
Meaning
An immoderate, excessive quantity of alcohol drunk the morning after whilst suffering withdrawal symptoms or a hangover, which goes beyond alleviating the complaint to causing drunkenness; compare hair of the dog.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“He drank a beer as a pelt of the dog.”
“You look tipsy because you drank a pelt of the dog this morning.”
“After a long night of partying, he ignored his headache and drank a strong cocktail as a pelt of the dog.”
“She tried to cure her hangover with a small drink, but she ended up having a pelt of the dog and felt drunk again by lunchtime.”
“Instead of just one glass to settle his stomach, he finished the whole bottle as a pelt of the dog and ruined his entire day.”
“Seeking relief from the morning's tremors, he foolishly turned to a pelt of the dog, only to find himself intoxicated before noon.”
Examples
simple
“He drank a beer as a pelt of the dog.”
“You look tipsy because you drank a pelt of the dog this morning.”
contextual
“After a long night of partying, he ignored his headache and drank a strong cocktail as a pelt of the dog.”
“She tried to cure her hangover with a small drink, but she ended up having a pelt of the dog and felt drunk again by lunchtime.”
“Instead of just one glass to settle his stomach, he finished the whole bottle as a pelt of the dog and ruined his entire day.”
complex
“Seeking relief from the morning's tremors, he foolishly turned to a pelt of the dog, only to find himself intoxicated before noon.”
Origin
An alteration of the idiom *hair of the dog*, substituting *pelt* for *hair* to imply a significantly greater quantity of the restorative agent. The shift in terminology suggests that if a single strand of the animal is insufficient to cure the consequences of the previous evening, the entire skin might be required.
Key words
Related idioms
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