He tried to quit sugar but fell off the wagon yesterday.
fall off the wagon
idiomTo cease or fail at a regimen of self-improvement or reform; to lapse back into an old habit or addiction.
Origin
first recorded 20th c. disputed originOriginally fall off the water wagon or fall off the water cart, referring to carts used to hose down dusty roads: see the 1901 quotation below. The suggestion is that a person who is “on the wagon” is drinking water rather than alcoholic beverages. The term may have been used by the early 20th-century temperance movement in the United States; for instance, William Hamilton Anderson (1874 – c. 1959), the superintendent of the New York Anti-Saloon League, is said to have made the following remark about Prohibition: “Be a good sport about it. No more falling off the water wagon. Uncle Sam will help you keep your pledge.”
After three months of eating healthy, she fell off the wagon during her vacation and ate only junk food.
Despite his firm resolve to maintain a disciplined lifestyle, the stress of the project caused him to fall off the wagon and return to his former habits.
- 01
fall apart
To be emotionally in crisis.
- 02
fall around
To fall over continually, especially through drunkenness, clumsiness, or incompetence.
- 03
fall asleep
To be affected by paresthesia; to go numb.
- 04
fall at the last hurdle
To fail near the end of an activity, a project, etc.
- 05
fall behind
To be late (for a regular event)
- 06
fall between the cracks
To wind up in an unexpected situation which is, inadvertently, invisible to or not handled by whatever process one had hoped to be subject to; to be overlooked.
- 07
fall between two stools
To fit into neither of two categories and, hence, be neglected or fail.
- 08
fall by the wayside
To fail to be completed, particularly for lack of interest; to be left out, to suffer from neglect.