Where did the phrase on the wagon come from?
‘On the wagon’ was coined in the USA around the turn of the 20th century. The phrase began as ‘on the water-cart’, migrated to ‘on the water-wagon’ and finally to ‘on the wagon’. The late 19th century saw the emergence of several temperance organisations, notably The Anti-Saloon League, founded in 1893 and The Woman’s Christian Temperance Union, founded in 1874. These followed on from the work of The Abstinence Society which had encouraged millions of men to ‘take the pledge’. The Pledge wasn’t just a vague intention to avoid drink; it was a specific and absolute promise never to drink again and was taken very seriously: “I promise to abstain from all intoxicating drinks except used medicinally and by order of a medical man, and to discountenance the cause and practice of intemperance. Water wagons were a commonplace sight in US cities at the time. They didn’t carry drinking water but were used to damp down dusty streets during dry weather. Those who had vowed to give up drink and were
