I'm on the wagon
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I'm on the wagon
Often when I hear this term I sort of cringe. Not necessarily in the general population, but when I see this expression used in a recovery forum I gasp. Only because the connotation of "being on the wagon" seems to me to be a temporary state. I've known people to go on the wagon for lent. Or while preparing for an upcoming athletic event. All with intent to go back off the wagon when their time is up.
From the internet: English Language and Usage
The original version of this expression, 'on the water wagon' or 'water cart,' which isn't heard anymore, best explains the phrase. During the late 19th century, water carts drawn by horses wet down dusty roads in the summer. At the height of the Prohibition crusade in the 1890s men who vowed to stop drinking would say that they were thirsty indeed but would rather climb aboard the water cart to get a drink than break their pledges. From this sentiment came the expression 'I'm on the water cart,' I'm trying to stop drinking, which is first recorded in, of all places, Alice Caldwell Rice's Mrs. Wiggs of the Caggage Patch [1901], where the consumptive Mr. Dick says it to old Mrs. Wiggs. The more alliterative 'wagon' soon replaced cart in the expression and it was eventually shortened to 'on the wagon.' 'Fall off the (water) wagon' made its entry into the language almost immediately after its abstinent sister.
However, the saying is indeed originally American and it is associated with wagons, of a sort. The original form, which dates from the early years of the twentieth century, was to be on the water-wagon, implying that the speaker was drinking water rather than alcohol and so was an abstainer, at least for the time being. The image of the horse-drawn water-wagon would have been an obvious one at the time — it was used to spray unpaved American streets in the dry summer months to dampen down dust thrown up by the traffic. A direct link with the temperance movement — very active at the time — would seem probable, though I’ve not been able to establish this for sure.
From the Cambridge dictionary online: If you are on the wagon, you have decided not to drink any alcohol for a period of time
To many here it may seem, to be on the wagon means to quit drinking for good. When I hear people say they are "on the wagon" or "fell off the wagon" it means they are not ready to quit yet. Semantics I know. But how many who actually quit for good say they were going on the wagon? None that I am aware. When I hear someone saying they are getting back on the wagon, it is only a matter of time these same people will report they have fallen off the wagon again. It's nit picky I know. End.
From the internet: English Language and Usage
The original version of this expression, 'on the water wagon' or 'water cart,' which isn't heard anymore, best explains the phrase. During the late 19th century, water carts drawn by horses wet down dusty roads in the summer. At the height of the Prohibition crusade in the 1890s men who vowed to stop drinking would say that they were thirsty indeed but would rather climb aboard the water cart to get a drink than break their pledges. From this sentiment came the expression 'I'm on the water cart,' I'm trying to stop drinking, which is first recorded in, of all places, Alice Caldwell Rice's Mrs. Wiggs of the Caggage Patch [1901], where the consumptive Mr. Dick says it to old Mrs. Wiggs. The more alliterative 'wagon' soon replaced cart in the expression and it was eventually shortened to 'on the wagon.' 'Fall off the (water) wagon' made its entry into the language almost immediately after its abstinent sister.
However, the saying is indeed originally American and it is associated with wagons, of a sort. The original form, which dates from the early years of the twentieth century, was to be on the water-wagon, implying that the speaker was drinking water rather than alcohol and so was an abstainer, at least for the time being. The image of the horse-drawn water-wagon would have been an obvious one at the time — it was used to spray unpaved American streets in the dry summer months to dampen down dust thrown up by the traffic. A direct link with the temperance movement — very active at the time — would seem probable, though I’ve not been able to establish this for sure.
From the Cambridge dictionary online: If you are on the wagon, you have decided not to drink any alcohol for a period of time
To many here it may seem, to be on the wagon means to quit drinking for good. When I hear people say they are "on the wagon" or "fell off the wagon" it means they are not ready to quit yet. Semantics I know. But how many who actually quit for good say they were going on the wagon? None that I am aware. When I hear someone saying they are getting back on the wagon, it is only a matter of time these same people will report they have fallen off the wagon again. It's nit picky I know. End.
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Join Date: Oct 2014
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LBrain, thank you so much for posting this sentiment; I could not agree more. I spent years "on and off" the wagon. For me, "the wagon" is the vehicle of choice for my AV, convincing me that "at any time" i could choose to drink or not drink. It has only been this time, when I have admitted that I cannot drink, that I cannot take it or leave it, that I truly feel my recovery has begun.
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It's a fair point Brian!!
When I got Sober, I got on the wagon, bought the wagon, re painted the wagon and it's now a permanent feature in my living room!!
A "temporary" viewpoint would have never worked!!
When I got Sober, I got on the wagon, bought the wagon, re painted the wagon and it's now a permanent feature in my living room!!
A "temporary" viewpoint would have never worked!!
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I never alerted to the phrase being on the wagon, but I always found fell off the wagon to be curious. Falling connotes an unintentional act. If I was on the wagon I never fell off, I always jumped.
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Yes relapse is definitely not an unintentional or passive event. It may be triggered by unconscious impulses, but ultimately it's always the result of conscious action. In my view, probably the expression "falling off the wagon" or "relapses happen, just dust yourself off and jump back on" arose to kinda augment the shame, guilt, and other emotional consequences of relapsing. They may provide some relief in the moment, but only temporarily, just like what the expression suggests. We humans often look for sneaky ways out and ways to justify them 
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Originally Posted by tomsteve 
Ive heard and read people say they were getting back on the wagon.
My thought is it might be wise to find another mode of transportation
My thought is it might be wise to find another mode of transportation
i love the wisdom : )
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