on the wagon

Idioms  

1. 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.”

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Example Sentences

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on the wagon

People get all mad at us, but if you’re going to jump on the wagon for three weeks, which is what 90% of the population does, we’re not the place for you.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 5, 2026

If you have not jumped on the wagon now is the time.

From Seattle Times ● Jul. 15, 2022

Meghan McCain was the last to jump on the wagon with her Wednesday column in that All-American news rag, The Daily Mail.

From Salon ● Jun. 3, 2022

I’m a lapsed vegan, back on the wagon after becoming overly reliant on “comfort foods” during these stressful times.

From Washington Post ● Aug. 17, 2021

Pa stopped the horses, and turned around on the wagon seat.

From "Little House in the Big Woods" by Laura Ingalls Wilder