ar y wagen
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Welsh[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Borrowed from English on the wagon, referring to carts used to hose down dusty roads:.[1][2][3] The suggestion is that a person who is “on the wagon” is drinking water rather alcohol.
Prepositional phrase[edit]
- (idiomatic) on the wagon, teetotal, renouncing alcohol[4]
- Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see ar, y, wagen.
Synonyms[edit]
- (teetotal): llwyrymwrthodol
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
- ^ R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present), “wagen”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies