Chrysti The Wordsmith: On the Wagon - 1

Greetings This is Christie the wordsmith. Someone who refrains from drinking alcohol is said to be in the world of American English slang on the wagon. This expression began appearing in print in the first few years of the 20th century but it's likely that it was in verbal circulation for some time prior to that. The way again in this American phrase of abstinence was a horse drawn water cart used to sprinkle water on dirt roads to keep dust from flying. It's said that during the apex of the temperance movement of the 1890s men pledging abstinence from spirits claimed they would rather climb aboard the wagon for a drink of dirty water than touch a drop of alcohol. The expression was quite common in America by 900 for the American Dialect Society distributed a publication in that year which said to be on the water wagon means to abstain from hard drinks. Predictably an antonym quickly arose to describe someone who had abandoned his pledge of sobriety. Thirsty for something stronger than water. The backslider was said to have

fallen off the water wagon or just fallen off the wagon. Next time on Christie the wordsmith another term involving abstinence from intoxicating beverages. Join me then when will discover the roots of tea totaller. CHRISTIE The wordsmith has recorded in the studios of KGO FM on the campus of Montana State University in Bozeman. The day we were lovers Christie the wordsmith a sponsored by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and Zoot enterprises a high tech firm in Bozeman Montana offering challenging careers and innovative solutions for the financial services industry sued web dotcom.