From the books ...
Alcoholics Anonymous (Big Book) and
Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions (12 & 12)
DRINK occurs
112 times
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Definition from Merriam-Webster Online)
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1.
... drink.
12&12 p.140,
Tradition Three
Everybody was
scared witless that something or somebody would
capsize the
boat and
dump us all back into the
drink.
2.
... drink.
BB p.1,
Bill's Story
3.
... drink.
BB p.5,
Bill's Story
I saw I could not take so much as one drink.
4.
... drink.
BB p.21,
There Is A Solution
He may
start off as a
moderate drinker; he may
or may not
become a
continuous hard drinker; but at some
stage of
his
drinking career he
begins to
lose all
control of his
liquor consumption, once he
starts to
drink.
5.
... drink?
BB p.22,
There Is A Solution
If
hundreds of
experiences have
shown
him that one
drink means
another
debacle with all
its
attendant suffering
and
humiliation, why is it he
takes that one
drink?
6.
... drink.
BB p.24,
There Is A Solution
The
fact is that most
alcoholics, for
reasons
yet obscure, have
lost the
power of
choice in
drink.
7.
... drink.
BB p.24,
There Is A Solution
We are without
defense against the
first drink.
8.
... drink."
BB p.24,
There Is A Solution
Only to have that
thought supplanted by "Well, I'll
stop with the
sixth drink."
9.
... drink?
BB p.35,
More About Alcoholism
10.
... drink.
BB p.37,
More About Alcoholism
11.
... drink.
BB p.41,
More About Alcoholism
Not only had I been off
guard, I had made no
fight whatever against the
first drink.
12.
... drink.
BB p.42,
More About Alcoholism
They had said that though I did
raise a
defense, it would one
day give way before some
trivial
reason for having a
drink.
13.
... drink.
BB p.43,
More About Alcoholism
Once more: The
alcoholic at
certain times has no
effective mental defense against the
first
drink.
14.
... drink.
BB p.70,
How It Works
If we are not
sorry, and our
conduct continues to
harm others, we are quite
sure to
drink.
15.
... drink.
BB p.93,
Working With Others
Admit that he
probably knows more about it than you do, but call to his
attention the
fact that
however
deep his
faith and
knowledge, he could not have
applied it or he would not
drink.
16.
... drink.
BB p.102,
Working With Others
If you do this
thoroughly, few people will
ask you to
drink.
17.
... drink.
BB p.111,
To Wives
It is
possible to have a
full and
useful life, though your
husband continues to
drink.
18.
... drink.
BB p.120,
To Wives
In a
weak moment he may take
your
dislike of his
high-
stepping friends as one of
those
insanely trivial
excuses to
drink.
19.
... drink.
BB p.138,
To Employers
20.
... drink.
BB p.142,
To Employers
You might say you
appreciate his
abilities, would like to
keep him, but cannot if he
continues to
drink.
21.
... drink.
BB p.147,
To Employers
He will
appreciate knowing you are not
bothering your
head about
him, that you are not
suspicious nor are you
trying to
run his
life so he will be
shielded
from
temptation to
drink.
22.
... drink.
BB p.154,
A Vision For You
Again it was the
old,
insidious insanity --
that
first drink.
23.
... drink.
BB p.157,
A Vision For You
There was much
talk about the
mental state preceding the
first drink.
24.
... drink.
BB p.570(572),
Appendix III, The Medical View on A.A.
They
know that they
must never drink.
25.
... drink.
BB xxx(xxviii),
The Doctor's Opinion
There is the
type of
man who is
unwilling to
admit that
he cannot take a
drink.
26.
... drink.
BB xxxi(xxix),
The Doctor's Opinion
He had
lost everything
worthwhile in
life and
was only
living, one might say, to
drink.
27.
... drink.
BB xxxi(xxix),
The Doctor's Opinion
Following his
physical rehabilitation, he had a
talk with me in which he
frankly stated he
thought the
treatment a
waste of
effort,
unless I could
assure him,
which no one ever had, that in the
future he would
have the "will
power" to
resist the
impulse to
drink.
28.
... drink.
BB xvii,
Foreword to Second Edition
He
never had another
drink.
29.
... drink a
day or so prior to ...
BB xxix(xxvii),
The Doctor's Opinion
They took a
drink a
day or so
prior to the
date, and then
the
phenomenon of
craving at once
became paramount to all other
interests so that the
important appointment
was not
met.
30.
... drink a
long time nor take the ...
BB p.33,
More About Alcoholism
To be
gravely affected,
one does not
necessarily have to
drink a
long time nor take the
quantities some of us have.
31.
... drink across
the table.
BB p.9,
Bill's Story
I
pushed a
drink across the
table.
32.
... drink after
a period of sobriety, we ...
BB p.33,
More About Alcoholism
Commencing to
drink
after a
period of
sobriety, we are in a
short
time as
bad as ever.
33.
... drink again.
BB p.40,
More About Alcoholism
Let him tell you about it: "I was much
impressed
with what you
fellows said about
alcoholism, and I
frankly did not
believe it
would be
possible for me to
drink again.
34.
... drink again.
BB p.41,
More About Alcoholism
I now
remembered what my
alcoholic friends had
told me, how they
prophesied that if I had an
alcoholic mind, the
time and place would
come -- I
would
drink again.
35.
... drink again.
BB p.66,
How It Works
The
insanity of
alcohol
returns and we
drink again.
36.
... drink again.
BB xxix(xxvii),
The Doctor's Opinion
After they have
succumbed to the
desire again, as so many do, and the
phenomenon of
craving develops, they
pass through
the well-
known stages of a
spree,
emerging remorseful, with a
firm resolution not to
drink
again.
37.
... drink again,
and anything is preferable to ...
BB p.130,
The Family Afterward
He will be
less likely to
drink again, and anything is
preferable to that.
38.
... drink again,
and if he drank, he ...
BB p.15,
Bill's Story
If he did not
work, he would
surely drink again, and if he
drank, he would
surely die.
39.
... drink again,
even beer, he might as ...
BB p.142,
To Employers
If he
temporizes and still
thinks he can ever
drink again,
even
beer, he might as well be
discharged after the
next
bender which, if an
alcoholic, he is almost
certain to have.
40.
... drink again,
they would reply with some ...
BB p.107,
To Wives
Asked why they
commenced
to
drink again, they would
reply with some
silly excuse, or
none.
41.
... drink again
up to the moment of ...
BB xvi,
Foreword to Second Edition
He
sobered,
never to
drink again up to the
moment of
his
death in
1950.
42.
... drink and
enable the sufferer to become ...
12&12 p.15,
Foreword
43.
... drink, and
grab for more of everything ...
12&12 p.49,
Step Four
We
eat,
drink, and
grab for more of
everything
than we
need,
fearing we
shall
never have
enough.
44.
... drink, and
on Armistice Day 1934, I ...
BB p.8,
Bill's Story
Then
came the
insidious
insanity of that
first
drink, and on
Armistice
Day 1934, I was off again.
45.
... drink and
speculation, I commenced to forge ...
BB p.2,
Bill's Story
Out of this
alloy of
drink
and
speculation, I
commenced to
forge the
weapon that one
day would
turn in
its flight like a
boomerang
and all but
cut me to
ribbons.
46.
... drink and
stop abruptly.
BB p.31,
More About Alcoholism
Try to
drink and
stop abruptly.
47.
... drink and
the temporary comfort of oblivion ...
12&12 p.120,
Step Twelve
When our
drinking had
become much
worse,
money was only an
urgent requirement which could
supply us with the
next drink and the
temporary comfort of
oblivion it
brought.
48.
... drink, and
when we tried to correct ...
12&12 p.47,
Step Four
We
thought "
conditions"
drove us to
drink, and when we
tried to
correct these
conditions and
found that
we couldn't to our
entire satisfaction, our
drinking went out of
hand and
we
became alcoholics.
49.
... drink are
on the increase.
BB p.104,
To Wives
Our
activities in
behalf of
women who
drink are on the
increase.
50.
... drink as
carelessly as though the cocktails ...
BB p.41,
More About Alcoholism
I had
commenced to
drink
as
carelessly as though the
cocktails were
ginger ale.
51.
... drink, as
he may do for months ...
BB p.22,
There Is A Solution
We
know that while the
alcoholic keeps away from
drink, as he may do for
months or
years, he
reacts much like other
men.
52.
... drink as
other men.
BB p.32,
More About Alcoholism
Then he
fell victim to a
belief which
practically
every
alcoholic has -- that his
long period of
sobriety and
self-
discipline had
qualified him to
drink as
other
men.
53.
... drink as
that of an individual with ...
BB p.37,
More About Alcoholism
Our
behavior is as
absurd and
incomprehensible with
respect to the
first drink as that of an
individual
with a
passion, say, for
jay-
walking.
54.
... drink at
all.
12&12 p.157,
Tradition Six
They
wanted to say that
liquor should be
enjoyed,
not
misused;
hard drinkers ought to
slow down,
and
problem drinkers --
alcoholics -- should not
drink at all.
55.
... drink because
at home we were smothered ...
12&12 p.47,
Step Four
We had to
drink because at
home we were
smothered with
love or got
none at all.
56.
... drink because
at work we were great ...
12&12 p.47,
Step Four
We had to
drink because at
work we were
great successes or
dismal failures.
57.
... drink because
our nation had won a ...
12&12 p.47,
Step Four
We had to
drink because our
nation had
won a
war or
lost a
peace.
58.
... drink because
times were hard or times ...
12&12 p.47,
Step Four
We had to
drink because
times
were
hard or
times were
good.
59.
... drink, but
I soon found that when ...
BB p.15,
Bill's Story
This sometimes
nearly drove
me back to
drink, but I soon
found that when all other
measures failed,
work with another
alcoholic
would
save the
day.
60.
... drink, but
I was confident it could ...
BB p.40,
More About Alcoholism
I rather
appreciated your
ideas about the
subtle insanity which
precedes
the
first drink, but I was
confident it could not
happen to me after what I had
learned.
61.
... drink, but
why not sit hopefully at ...
BB p.154,
A Vision For You
Of
course he couldn't
drink,
but why not
sit hopefully
at a
table, a
bottle of
ginger ale before him?
62.
... drink deliberately,
instead of casually, there was ...
BB p.37,
More About Alcoholism
We now see that when we
began to
drink deliberately, instead
of
casually, there was
little serious or
effective thought during
the
period of
premeditation of what the
terrific consequences
might be.
63.
... drink essentially
because they like the effect ...
BB xxviii(xxvi),
The Doctor's Opinion
Men and
women drink essentially because
they like the
effect produced by
alcohol.
64.
... drink even
if he would.
BB p.57,
We Agnostics
Seemingly he could not
drink even if he would.
65.
... drink for
a day, and he frequently ...
BB p.21,
There Is A Solution
66.
... drink for
a great many years.
BB xxxii(xxx),
The Doctor's Opinion
He has not had a
drink for a
great many
years.
67.
... drink has
never returned; and at such ...
BB p.57,
We Agnostics
Save for a few
brief moments of
temptation
the
thought of
drink has
never returned; and at such
times a
great revulsion has
risen up in
him.
68.
... drink if
we are afraid to face ...
BB p.78,
Into Action
We
must lose our
fear of
creditors no
matter how far we have to go, for we are
liable to
drink if we are
afraid to
face them.
69.
... drink in
this nonchalant way, and after ...
BB p.24,
There Is A Solution
How often have some of us
begun to
drink in this
nonchalant way,
and after the
third or
fourth,
pounded on the
bar and said to ourselves, "For
God's
sake, how did I ever get
started again?"
70.
... drink is
to die.
BB p.66,
How It Works
And with us, to
drink is to
die.
71.
... drink it
would, if taken, inevitably set ...
12&12 p.164,
Tradition Seven
72.
... drink like
a gentleman or quit?"
BB p.20,
There Is A Solution
"Why don't you
drink like a
gentleman or
quit?"
73.
... drink like
a gentleman, our hats are ...
BB p.31,
More About Alcoholism
If anyone who is
showing inability to
control his
drinking can do the
right-about-
face and
drink like a
gentleman, our
hats are off to him.
74.
... drink like
other people.
BB p.30,
More About Alcoholism
Therefore, it is not
surprising that our
drinking careers have been
characterized by
countless vain attempts to
prove we could
drink like other people.
75.
... drink like
other people!
BB p.31,
More About Alcoholism
Heaven knows, we have
tried hard enough and
long enough to
drink like other
people!
76.
... drink like
other people.
BB p.109,
To Wives
He is
worried at
times,
and is
becoming aware
that he cannot
drink like other people.
77.
... drink like
other people, but does not ...
BB p.110,
To Wives
He
admits he cannot
drink
like other people, but does not see why.
78.
... drink like
that."
BB p.157,
A Vision For You
Over and over, he would say: "That's me. That's me. I drink like that."
79.
... drink liquor.
BB p.102,
Working With Others
Don't
start to
withdraw
again just because your
friends drink liquor.
80.
... drink means
another debacle with all its ...
BB p.22,
There Is A Solution
If
hundreds of
experiences have
shown
him that one
drink means
another
debacle with all
its
attendant suffering
and
humiliation, why is it he
takes that one
drink?
81.
... drink meant
ruin to them?
BB p.107,
To Wives
Why could they not see that
drink meant ruin to them?
82.
... drink moderately
may be more annoyed with ...
BB p.139,
To Employers
Those who
drink moderately may be more
annoyed with an
alcoholic
than a
total abstainer
would be.
83.
... drink moderately
next time.
BB p.109,
To Wives
But when he gets over the
spree, he
begins to
think once more how
he can
drink moderately
next time.
84.
... drink moderately
the question is how to ...
BB p.34,
More About Alcoholism
For those who are
unable to
drink moderately the
question is how to
stop
altogether.
85.
... drink more.
BB p.111,
To Wives
He will use that as an
excuse to
drink more.
86.
... drink my
way, and I had taken ...
BB p.5,
Bill's Story
Someone had
pushed a
drink
my way, and I had
taken it.
87.
... drink normally.
BB p.33,
More About Alcoholism
Most of us have
believed that if we
remained sober for a
long stretch, we could
thereafter
drink normally.
88.
... drink obsession
by a sudden spiritual experience, ...
BB xv,
Foreword to Second Edition
89.
... drink of
a spree.
BB p.92,
Working With Others
Show him the
mental twist which
leads to the
first drink of a
spree.
90.
... drink openly
with him.
BB p.9,
Bill's Story
Of
course he would have
dinner, and then I could
drink
openly with him.
91.
... drink or
not.
BB p.34,
More About Alcoholism
Whether such a
person can
quit upon a
nonspiritual
basis depends upon the
extent to which he has already
lost the
power to
choose whether he will
drink or
not.
92.
... drink prevents
normal functioning of the will ...
BB p.92,
Working With Others
93.
... drink problem.
BB p.17,
There Is A Solution
They have
solved the
drink
problem.
94.
... drink problem
has disappeared will often come ...
BB p.75,
Into Action
The
feeling that the
drink
problem has
disappeared will often
come strongly.
95.
... drink question,
they tell why living was ...
BB p.51,
We Agnostics
96.
... drink since.
12&12 p.145,
Tradition Three
He hasn't had a drink since.
97.
... drink since.
BB p.13,
Bill's Story
I have not had a drink since.
98.
... drink since.
BB p.156,
A Vision For You
He has not had a drink since.
99.
... drink than
you have.
BB p.23,
There Is A Solution
And the
truth,
strange to
say, is usually that he has no more
idea why he took
that
first drink than you
have.
100.
... drink, the
family will find life more ...
BB p.97,
Working With Others
And even though he
continues to
drink, the
family will find
life more
bearable.
101.
... drink their
heads off.
BB p.138,
To Employers
I
pointed out that I had had
nothing to
drink whatever for
three years, and this in the
face of
difficulties
that would have made
nine out of
ten men drink their
heads off.
102.
... drink, thereby
setting the terrible cycle in ...
BB p.23,
There Is A Solution
103.
... drink too
much.
BB p.104,
To Wives
We
want the
wives of
Alcoholics Anonymous
to
address the
wives of
men who
drink too much.
104.
... drink vanished.
12&12 p.63,
Step Six
105.
... drink was.
12&12 p.65,
Step Six
This does not
mean that we
expect all our
character
defects to be
lifted out
of us as the
drive to
drink
was.
106.
Drink was
taking an important and exhilarating ...
BB p.3,
Bill's Story
107.
... drink; we
must avoid moving pictures which ...
BB p.101,
Working With Others
People have said we
must not go where
liquor is
served; we
must not have it in our
homes;
we
must shun friends who
drink; we
must avoid moving pictures which
show drinking scenes; we
must not go into
bars; our
friends must hide their
bottles if we go to their
houses; we
mustn't think or be
reminded about
alcohol at all.
108.
... drink, we
often get quite far off ...
12&12 p.112,
Step Twelve
Without
necessarily taking that
first drink, we often get quite far off the
beam.
109.
... drink whatever
for three years, and this ...
BB p.138,
To Employers
I
pointed out that I had had
nothing to
drink whatever for
three years, and this in the
face of
difficulties
that would have made
nine out of
ten men drink their
heads off.
110.
... drink without
danger.
BB xxx(xxviii),
The Doctor's Opinion
There is the
type who always
believes that after being
entirely free from
alcohol for a
period of
time he can take a
drink without
danger.
111.
... drink would
he be worth retaining?
BB p.140,
To Employers
If he had these
qualities and did not
drink would he be
worth retaining?
112.
... drink you
are, of course, going to ...
BB p.117,
To Wives
If you and your
husband find a
solution for the
pressing
problem of
drink you are,
of
course,
going to be very
happy.
Passages from the Big Book Alcoholics Anonymous
and the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions
are reprinted with permission of A.A. World Services, Inc.
The A.A. Preamble, copyright ©
The A.A. Grapevine, Inc., is reprinted with permission.
Permission to reprint does not in any way imply affiliation with or
endorsement by either Alcoholics Anonymous or The A.A. Grapevine, Inc.
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