Why is Called “Teetotal”? Meaning and Dry History Explained

By this time, membership in temperance societies had reached about 1.5 million in the United States. It was also estimated that about a quarter of a million individuals were define teetotalism practicing total abstinence. When at drinking establishments, teetotallers tend to consume non-alcoholic beverages such as water, juice, tea, coffee, non-alcoholic soft drinks, virgin drinks, mocktails, and alcohol-free beer.

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• Many Christian groups, including Methodists and Quakers, have traditionally supported the temperance movement and prohibition.
• In this context, the word is still used, predominantly in the southern United States.
• Once upon a time, in 1833, a man named Richard Turner stood up in a meeting of the Preston Temperance Society in Lancashire, England.
• It includes the New Order Amish, Christian Scientists, Latter-Day Saints, Seventh Day Adventists, and Mennonites.
• Teetotalers in the 19th century who belonged to temperance societies typically signed a pledge promising to abstain from alcohol.

He argued that the only true path to a life of wild excitement was total abstinence from alcohol. Contemporary and colloquial usage has somewhat expanded teetotalism to include strict abstinence from most “recreational” intoxicants (legal and illegal). Most teetotaler organizations also demand from their members that they do not promote or produce alcoholic intoxicants. The temperance movement is a social effort that opposes the consumption of alcoholic beverages. Studies in the late 2010s indicated a decline in youth drinking in Western countries, with more than one-fourth of English youth in their mid-teens to mid-20s and nearly three-tenths of college-age Americans claiming total abstinence.

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Informal annual events such as “Dry January” or “Sober October” also encourage participants to abstain from alcohol and promote their abstinence on social media. His wife acquired the nickname “Lemonade Lucy” because of her practice of serving guests non-alcoholic beverages while entertaining in the White House. A more contemporary example of this is the current Vice President of the United States Joe Biden who abstains from alcohol, citing his own family’s history of alcoholism. Participants in the movement criticize alcohol intoxication and promote the benefits of teetotalism. The movement’s leaders emphasize alcohol’s impacts on family life, health, and people’s personalities. Numerous Christian denominations forbid the consumption of alcoholic beverages.

Why is Called “Teetotal”? (Meaning and Dry History Explained)

While you’re at it, raise another glass in honor of Richard Turner, whose stutter led to the creation of a term that will forever define those who choose to abstain from the devil’s nectar. Many Christian groups, including Methodists and Quakers, have traditionally supported the temperance movement and prohibition. Richard Turner, a member of the Preston Temperance Society, received credit for using the slang word “teetotally.” He used it to describe abstinence from all existing alcoholic drinks.

• Teetotalism involves the commitment to abstain from alcohol and similar substances, often promoted for health, moral, or social reasons.
• Teetotalism (sometimes tee-totalism) refers to either the practice of or the promotion of complete abstinence from alcoholic beverages.
• It’s necessary for a recovering alcoholic to avoid alcohol, even if it means staying out of bars and pubs.
• During the 19th and 20th centuries, the temperance movement gained recognition in numerous countries.
• Teetotalism, the practice or promotion of total abstinence from alcoholic drinks.
• This means they’ve waved goodbye to the likes of beer, wine, and spirits in favor of more tepid beverages, like water, fruit juice, or herbal tea.

A common American term is “on the (water) wagon”, which frequently means those who have had a problem with alcohol, as well as the terms “dry” and “sober”. “Straight edge” is a newer idiom for abstaining from alcohol and other intoxicants, although it is more common in connection with hardcore punk culture. “Temperance” was a more popular term in the 1800s and early 1900s when temperance unions throughout the US battled consumption of alcoholic beverages.

What Is a Teetotaler? 9 Facts of the Teetotaler Definition

Teetotalism involves the commitment to abstain from alcohol and similar substances, often promoted for health, moral, or social reasons. A more likely explanation is that teetotal is simply a repetition of the ‘T’ in total. The word could also be confused as a fusion of the words tea, a common non-alcoholic beverage, and total, albeit with the spelling changed slightly — but this is widely considered to be incorrect. Whereas many temperance groups lobbied for prohibition, the Washington Temperance Society, whose members were known as the Washingtonians, emphasized individual reform over societal reform. The fellowship group for reformed alcoholics was founded in 1840 in Baltimore, Maryland, by six men seeking to help one another and others to maintain their sobriety.

Women formed their own Washingtonian chapters, Martha Washington societies, and called themselves “Marthas.” By the late 1840s, most Washingtonian chapters had stopped meeting owing to declining membership. This is a list of notable figures who practiced teetotalism and were public advocates for temperance, teetotalism, or both. To be included in this list, individuals must be well-known for their abstention from alcohol, their advocacy efforts, or both.Individuals whose abstention from alcohol is not a defining characteristic or feature of their notability are intentionally excluded.

Proponents of teetotalism often promote the social, physical, and mental benefits of not consuming alcoholic beverages, encouraging others to adopt a similar lifestyle for various reasons, including personal health, religious beliefs, and societal impacts. Teetotalism (sometimes tee-totalism) refers to either the practice of or the promotion of complete abstinence from alcoholic beverages. A person who practices (and possibly advocates) teetotalism is called a teetotaler or teetotaller (plural teetotalers or teetotallers) or is simply said to be teetotal. Some common reasons for choosing teetotalism are religious, health, family, philosophical, fear of gastric/ epi-gastric and/or social reasons, and, sometimes, as simply a matter of taste preference. When at drinking establishments, they either abstain from drinking or consume non-alcoholic beverages such as tea, coffee, water, juice, and soft drinks.

Teetotaller religions

One of the five precepts of Buddhism is remaining free of intoxicating substances that disturb the peace and self-control of the mind. It’s formulated as a training rule assumed voluntarily rather than a commandment. According to historian Daniel Walker Howe, the word came from Lyman Beecher, an American preacher and temperance advocate.

This means they’ve waved goodbye to the likes of beer, wine, and spirits in favor of more tepid beverages, like water, fruit juice, or herbal tea. Once upon a time, in 1833, a man named Richard Turner stood up in a meeting of the Preston Temperance Society in Lancashire, England. The society was dedicated to promoting a life of sobriety, but Turner believed they didn’t go far enough.

The word could also be confused as a fusion of the words tea, a common non-alcoholic beverage, and total, albeit with the spelling changed slightly (Tea-total) — but this is not widely believed. “Khamr” is the word for all intoxicants that Islam prohibits, and Hinduism and Sikhism also require abstinence from alcohol. Teetotaler organizations usually demand that their members not produce or promote alcoholic beverages as part of their commitment. An American source first recorded the word “teetotal” in a general sense in 1832.

It’s a lifestyle choice that requires an iron will, a love for clear-headed mornings, and the ability to withstand endless mockery from friends who don’t understand the appeal of a party without a single drop of booze. The decision to abstain from alcohol provides benefits for the people who choose to do so. During the 19th and 20th centuries, the temperance movement gained recognition in numerous countries. Certain people stop drinking because they want to improve their physical and mental health. In Dublin, the Pioneer Total Abstinence Association of the Sacred Heart (Pioneers) was founded in 1898 by another priest, James Cullen. This section includes scientific research in the field of healthcare, often involving traditional medicine systems such as Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha and Holistic health.