Noun. A small beer, to combat the effects of excessive alcohol intake, consumed the day after, usually with a hearty meal – some form of Gulasch being traditional.
A compound word consisting of Reparatur (repair) and Seidl, an Austrian term for a small glass of beer originating from the medieval Latin word situlus (a small vessel) – nowadays standardized at 0.33l.
An honored part of the “hair of the dog” school hangover cures applied with varying effectiveness the world over, local folk wisdom dictates that one-third-of-a-liter of suds – preferably a bitter pilsener – is the ideal portion to alleviate the effects of overindulgence, as it’s not enough to get you going (like the larger, 0.5l Krügerl), but sufficient to counter the onset of withdrawal.
Although, truth be told, that hearty (albeit greasy) meal that generally goes with the Reperaturseidl almost certainly does way more. Or, as Metropole recommends, you can try drinking a liter or two of tap water before bed, followed by a breakfast of ham and eggs washed down with pickle juice.
“I glaub i hab gestern zvü dranglt, i brauch a Reparaturseidel!” (I believe I’ve drunk too much yesterday, I need a repair beer!)
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