on the wagon

Idioms and Phrases

Abstaining from drinking alcoholic beverages, as in Don't offer her wine; she's on the wagon . This expression is a shortening of on the water wagon , referring to the horse-drawn water car once used to spray dirt roads to keep down the dust. Its present meaning dates from about 1900. The antonym off the wagon , used for a resumption of drinking, dates from the same period. B.J. Taylor used it in Extra Dry (1906): “It is better to have been on and off the wagon than never to have been on at all.”

Example Sentences

Watermelons were piled up on the wagon.

From BBC

She pulled herself up on the wagon so half of her body was out of the molasses.

From Literature

For England, this is a chance to get back on the wagon - to find the formidable form and confidence that has been present sub-consciously for so long in white-ball cricket, leading to them being double world champions.

From BBC

While at these events, I learned five ways to not make your sobriety the subject of the party, therefore allowing you to stay on the wagon in peace as well.

From Salon

Pita, being so attached to the donkey, was too busy petting it to climb up, so Juanita whistled at her and said, “You too, Christopher Robin, up on the wagon.”

From Literature