be/go on the wagon

be on the wagon

To be maintaining one's sobriety; to be abstaining from alcohol. Jim's on the wagon again, so he doesn't want to go to the bar with us tonight. I'm much healthier now that I'm on the wagon, but I find it hard to socialize with my friends. I've been on the wagon since my kids were little. They needed a mom who was sober, you know?

See also: on, wagon

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

be/go on the ˈwagon

(informal) no longer drink/decide to stop drinking alcohol, either for a short period of time or permanently, especially if you drink a lot: ‘Would you like a gin and tonic?’ ‘No thanks. I’m on the wagon.’This idiom refers to the water wagon, which in America sprayed roads with water to prevent clouds of dust. If somebody starts drinking alcohol again, they are said to fall off the wagon.

See also: go, on, wagon

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