water wagon
Dust-settling street sprayer
A water wagon is a vehicle carrying water, originally horse-drawn wagons that sprinkled streets to settle dust.
The phrase survives mainly in on the water wagon (or off the water wagon), meaning abstaining from alcohol—the image being someone so committed to sobriety they'd drink water from a street-cleaning wagon rather than liquor.
Now usually shortened to on the wagon.
- temperanceHabitual moderation in behavior
- sobrietyUnimpaired mental state
- tankLarge storage vessel
- barrelHooped cylindrical vessel
- dryFree from moisture
abstinence · cold turkey · drying out · prohibition · teetotaler · pledge · drinking problem · sprinkler · dust · streets · horse-drawn · horse and cart · reform · AA · recovery · straight edge · clean living · clean
- wagonsprairie schooner, buckboard, bandwagon, wain, Conestoga
- Frontier Transportstagecoach, prairie schooner, mule train, oxcart, buckboard
water wagonbender
Extended bout of drinking
off the wagon · drinking · falling off the wagon · bar · saloon
water wagonfire engine
Firefighter response vehicle
fire truck · pumper truck · tanker truck · fuel truck · garbage truck
water, wagon, waters, watered, watering, watery, waterless, wagons