off the wagon
22
8.3
- idiom
- Informal
- I did the running, lost the weight, and then fell off the wagon due to boredom.
- fallen off the wagon
- gone off the wagon
- off the wagon again
Examples
-
After six months of sobriety, Ben fell off the wagon and had a drink at the party.
-
I fell off the wagon, and I hurt myself.
-
There will likely be days you fall off the wagon.
Blog text (28) -
I can go weeks and weeks without drinking, but then fall off the wagon heavily.
Blog text (5) -
I'm off the wagon again.
-
The average duration of a weight-loss diet is only 4 to 6 weeks; then people "fall off the wagon."
Blog text (26) -
Just when it seemed like he was cleaning up his act, Scott Disick falls off the wagon of good behavior once again!
Blog text (8) -
She was doing well in her recovery, but recently she fell off the wagon during a stressful week.
-
Despite his efforts to stay sober, he unfortunately fell off the wagon after attending the wedding.
Antonyms
How Abstinent
1
8.0
- Informal
1
8.1
286
3.2
- Archaic
1
9.9
- Informal
22
8.3
Surface Forms
Morphology
off + the + wagon
The meaning ‘having resumed drinking’ is not transparently built from the constituents: 'off' + 'the' + 'wagon' would literally suggest being physically away from or fallen from a vehicle, which does not lead to the alcohol-relapse sense. This is a culturally specific idiom (related to the temperance metaphor of being 'on the wagon') and thus unpredictable to a B1 learner who only knows the component words.
Etymology
Off the wagon comes from an image of a 'water wagon', a wagon that gave people water instead of alcohol. If someone stopped choosing water and began drinking again, they were 'off the wagon', so today the phrase means 'resumed drinking' after a time of not drinking.