fall off the wagon
verbEtymology
Originally fall off the water wagon or fall off the water cart, referring to carts used to hose down dusty roads: 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.”
1
Idiomatic To cease or fail at a regimen of self-improvement or reform; to lapse back into an old habit or addiction.
- Though he fell off the wagon several times, he eventually succeeded in quitting.
- In 2006, he checked himself into the Hazelden center in Springbrook, Ore., to be treated for an addiction to alcohol, having fallen off the wagon after some 20 years of sobriety.2014 August 11, Dave Itzkoff, “Robin Williams, Oscar-Winning Comedian, Dies at 63 in Suspected Suicide”, in New York Times:
1 more example
- After nearly 17 years of sobriety, Zevon fell off the wagon hard when he was diagnosed.2018 September 8, Steven Hyden, “His Sh*t’s F***ed Up: The Complicated Legacy of Warren Zevon”, in The Ringer, retrieved 08 Sep 2018:
- Synonyms
- relapse
- Related terms
- off the wagon, on the wagon