Words matter with Kel Richards: ‘Hair of the dog’ explained

Wordsmith and Broadcaster Kel Richards has sat with Sky News host Peta Credlin to discuss the meaning behind the term ‘hair of the dog’. “When people talk about ‘hair of the dog’ they nearly always say if you’ve got a hangover what you need is a stiff drink that will cure it,” Mr Richards told Sky News host Peta Credlin. “The full expression is a ‘hair of a dog that bit you’ because the theory is a small amount of what made you sick will make you well. “It comes from called homeopathy which is one of these pseudoscientific alternative medicine things based on the like cures like. “So if something made you sick a small amount of it or a diluted amount of it will make you better.”