Language: en
Meaning: (idiomatic)Abstainingfromdrinkinganyalcoholicdrink, usually in the sense of havinggiven it up(as opposed to never havingpartaken);teetotal.[1901,Alice Caldwell Hegan, “How Spring Came to the Cabbage Patch”, inMrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch(Project Gutenberg;EBook #4377)[1], New York, N.Y.: Published bythe Century Co.,De Vinne Press, published 26 July 2009 (Project Gutenberg version),→OCLC, archived fromthe originalon24 October 2015, page124:I wanted to git him some whisky, but he shuck his head. 'I'mon the water-cart,' sez he.]1915,Billy Sunday,Get on the Water Wagon, Journal Publishing Company:"Where did you get all that money?" / "Went to hear Bill and climbedon thewaterwagon."1917(first published1918March),Edgar Rice Burroughs, “The Oakdale Affair”, inBlue Book Magazine(Project Gutenberg; EBook #363)[2], Chicago, Ill.: Story-Press Corp., published 25 January 2013 (Project Gutenberg version),OCLC270523625, archived fromthe originalon 30 March 2016; republished inThe Oakdale Affair; The Rider, Tarzana, Calif.:Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc., 1937,OCLC8951886:"Sit down, bo," invited Soup Face. "I guess you're a regular all right. Here, have a snifter?" and he pulled a flask from his side pocket, holding it toward The Oskaloosa Kid. / "Thank you, but;—er—I'mon the wagon, you know," declined the youth.1995,George E[man] Vaillant, “The Natural History of Alcoholism”, inThe Natural History of Alcoholism Revisited, Cambridge, Mass.:Harvard University Press,→ISBN, page177:[T]hree years later he began formally to goon the wagon: "I quit drinking three months ago, hopefully for life."2009,Allen Carr, “Those Lucky Normal Drinkers”, inEasy Way to Control Alcohol, London: Arcturus Publishing,→ISBN, page200:In fact regularly goingon the wagonis a sure indication of a serious drink problem. If they genuinely enjoy a drink, why would they even want to go a month without one? Obviously because their drinking was causing them a problem.2022July 18, Amelia Tait, “‘Alcohol is a hand grenade’: how reality TV went from boozy Big Brother to nosecco Love Island”, inThe Guardian[3]:The Big Brother house guests drank liquor by the crateful. But Love Island’s tortuous trysts are fuelled by fruit juice and nosecco. Why did reality TV goon the wagon?; (by extension)Maintainingaprogramofself-improvementorabstinencefrom some other undesirablehabit.He’s beenon thesmoking cessationwagonfor two weeks now.2003, Patt Denning, Jeannie Little, Adina Glickman, “Addiction: Is It All or Nothing?”, inOver the Influence: The Harm Reduction Guide for Managing Drugs and Alcohol, New York, N.Y.:Guilford Press,→ISBN, page15:This book is about harm reduction. It is not about "getting clean."[…]It is not about an all-or-nothing attitude: drinkorbeon the wagon, useorquit. It is aboutreducing the harmdone by alcohol and other drugs in your life. Less harmisthe solution.2015, Richard Foreman, “Managing Your Cravings”, inHow to Quit Smoking in Simple Steps!: The Best Easy Ways to Stop Smoking,[s.l.]: Richard Foreman:Just because you've had a smoke doesn't mean that you need to become depressed and give up on quitting. This is a learning process and you need to take every day as it comes. Simply get backon the wagonand continue on with your nonsmoking goals. You can do this!; Used other than figuratively or idiomatically:seeon,the,wagon.
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