fall off the wagon

Verb

fall off the wagon (third-person singular simple present falls off the wagon, present participle falling off the wagon, simple past and past participle fell off the wagon)

1. (idiomatic) To cease or fail at a regimen of self-improvement or reform; to lapse back into an old habit or addiction.

   Though he fell off the wagon several times, he eventually succeeded in quitting.

   • 2014 August 11, w:Dave Itzkoff, "Robin Williams, Oscar-Winning Comedian, Dies at 63 in Suspected Suicide," New York Times

     In 2006, he checked himself into the Hazelden center in Springbrook, Ore., to be treated for an addiction to alcohol, having fallen off the wagon after some 20 years of sobriety.

See also

• on the wagon
• off the wagon