off the wagon
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English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Originally off the water wagon or off the water cart, referring to carts used to hose down dusty roads:[1][2][3] see the 1901 quotation below. The suggestion is that a person who is “on the wagon” is drinking water rather than alcoholic beverages. The term may have been used by the early 20th-century temperance movement in the United States; for instance, William Hamilton Anderson (1874 – c. 1959), the superintendent of the New York Anti-Saloon League, is said to have made the following remark about Prohibition: “Be a good sport about it. No more falling off the water wagon. Uncle Sam will help you keep your pledge.”
Pronunciation[edit]
Audio (AU) (file)
Prepositional phrase[edit]
- (idiomatic) No longer maintaining a program of self-improvement or abstinence from an undesirable habit, especially drinking alcohol.
- She kept up her diet for an entire month before falling off the wagon.
- He is off the wagon again.
Antonyms[edit]
Related terms[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ Michael Quinion (created July 18, 1998, last updated January 27, 2006) “On the wagon”, in World Wide Words.
- ^ Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “wagon”, in Online Etymology Dictionary, retrieved 2019-10-08: “Phrase on the wagon "abstaining from alcohol" is attested by 1904, originally on the water cart.”
- ^ Robert Hendrickson (1997) The Facts on File Encyclopedia of Word and Phrase Origins, rev. and exp. edition, New York, N.Y.: Facts On File, →ISBN.
Further reading[edit]
- “off the wagon”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.