When a heavy drinker quits he must really quit. One little drink of whiskey is enough to drive him off the wagon.
Словарь американских идиом. — СПб., Изд-во "Лань". Оригинал: A.Маккей, М.Т.Боткер, Дж.И.Гейтс. 1997.
off the wagon — {adj. phr.}, {slang} No longer refusing to drink whiskey or other alcoholic beverages; drinking liquor again, after stopping for a while. * /When a heavy drinker quits he must really quit. One little drink of whiskey is enough to drive him off… … Dictionary of American idioms
off the wagon — {adj. phr.}, {slang} No longer refusing to drink whiskey or other alcoholic beverages; drinking liquor again, after stopping for a while. * /When a heavy drinker quits he must really quit. One little drink of whiskey is enough to drive him off… … Dictionary of American idioms
off the wagon — 1. mod. drinking liquor after a period of abstinence. □ Poor John fell off the wagon again. Drunk as a skunk. □ He was off the wagon for a year the last time before he sobered up. 2. mod. back on drugs after a period of abstinence. □ Max is off… … Dictionary of American slang and colloquial expressions
off the wagon — adverb (or adjective) : no longer under pledge or resolution to abstain from alcoholic beverages * * * off the wagon informal phrase drinking alcohol again after not drinking for a period of time Thesaurus: drunksynonym Main entry … Useful english dictionary
off the wagon — adverb No longer maintaining a program of self improvement or abstinence from an undesirable habit, especially drinking alcohol. She kept up her diet for an entire month before falling off the wagon. Ant: on the wagon … Wiktionary
off the wagon — habitually drinking alcohol after a period of abstinence After having been on the wagon: When a man like that goes off the wagon, he bites dust. (Kersh, 1936) … How not to say what you mean: A dictionary of euphemisms
off the wagon — drinking alcohol again, after having stopped. If she falls off the wagon again, she ll just have to pick herself up and try to stop drinking. Usage notes: usually said about someone who has an alcohol problem Opposite of: on the wagon … New idioms dictionary
off the wagon — phrasal in or into a state of no longer abstaining from alcoholic beverages < fell off the wagon > … New Collegiate Dictionary
off the wagon — drinking again, drunk again He s off the wagon again. He started drinking last night … English idioms
off the wagon — begin to drink alcohol again after stopping for awhile He seems to be off the wagon again. I saw him yesterday and I am sure that he had been drinking … Idioms and examples
