on the wagon
Abstaining from drinking any alcoholic drink, usually in the sense of having given it upAbstaining from drinking any alcoholic drink, usually in the sense of having given it up (as opposed to never having partaken); teetotal.
» My father is on the wagon.
Mein Vater rührt keinen Tropfen mehr an.
Мой отец в фургоне.
Мой отец в завязке.
Мій батько непитущий.
Meaning
3 senses(idiomatic)Abstaining from drinking any alcoholic drink, usually in the sense of having given it up (as opposed to never having partaken); teetotal.
trocken sein
в завязкеv zavjazke
(broadly)Maintaining a program of self-improvement or abstinence from some other undesirable habit.
He’s been on the smoking cessation wagon for two weeks now.
Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see on, the, wagon.
Examples
6 sentencesMy father is on the wagon.
Мій батько непитущий. — deniko
ruМой отец в фургоне. — Netka
deMein Vater rührt keinen Tropfen mehr an. — Esperantostern
Tom loaded coal on his wagon.
Tom is on the wagon.
ruТом в завязке. — odexed
You are the fifth wheel on the wagon.
ruТы как собаке пятая нога! — marafon
deDu bist das fünfte Rad am Wagen. — Esperantostern
He has decided to go on the wagon.
Translations
4 languagesBy meaning 1
By meaning 1
Origin
Originally on the water wagon or on the water cart, referring to carts used to hose down dOriginally on the water wagon or on 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.”
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