LIKE in Big Book Alcoholics Anonymous, 12 Steps and 12 Traditions

From the books ... Alcoholics Anonymous (Big Book) and Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions (12 & 12)

lighten

lightly

lights

LIKE occurs 155 times [90 in BB ... 65 in 12&12] Definition in Merriam-Webster Online

likeable

liked

likely

Click a book cover icon

to view the Big Book or 12&12 chapter, or Grapevine text

... like. BB More About Alcoholism, p.37

In some circumstances we have gone out deliberately to get drunk, feeling ourselves justified by nervousness, anger, worry, depression, jealousy or the like.

... like. 12&12 Step Ten, p.88

That is the emotional hangover, the direct result of yesterday's and sometimes today's excesses of negative emotion -- anger, fear, jealousy, and the like.

... like. 12&12 Step Eleven, p.101

This much could be a fragment of what is called meditation, perhaps our very first attempt at a mood, a flier into the realm of spirit, if you like.

... like a bad boy. 12&12 Step Twelve, p.119

At this point he firmly but lovingly commences to behave like a partner instead of like a bad boy.

... like a boomerang and all but cut ... BB Bill's Story, p.2

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.

... like a boy whistling in the dark ... BB A Vision For You, p.152

We know our friend is like a boy whistling in the dark to keep up his spirits.

... like a central government can anywhere be ... 12&12 Foreword, p.16

Why is it, they ask, that in A.A. no member can be set in personal authority over another, that nothing like a central government can anywhere be seen?

Like a gaunt prospector, belt drawn in ... BB The Family Afterward, p.128

Like a gaunt prospector, belt drawn in over the last ounce of food, our pick struck gold.

... like a gentleman or quit?" BB There Is A Solution, p.20

"Why don't you drink like a gentleman or quit?"

10.

... like a gentleman, our hats are off ... BB More About Alcoholism, p.31

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.

11.

... like a good thing. 12&12 Tradition Six, p.158

At first glance, it did look like a good thing.

12.

... like a hard question, but practically speaking, ... 12&12 Step Six, p.68

This sounds like a hard question, but practically speaking, it isn't.

13.

... like, a Higher Power -- into our lives. 12&12 Step Three, p.34

Like all the remaining Steps, Step Three calls for affirmative action, for it is only by action that we can cut away the self-will which has always blocked the entry of God -- or, if you like, a Higher Power -- into our lives.

14.

... like a mere means of getting money ... 12&12 Step Twelve, p.121

When a job still looked like a mere means of getting money rather than an opportunity for service, when the acquisition of money for financial independence looked more important than a right dependence upon God, we were still the victims of unreasonable fears.

15.

... like a partner instead of like a ... 12&12 Step Twelve, p.119

At this point he firmly but lovingly commences to behave like a partner instead of like a bad boy.

16.

... like a pig, and was uncomfortable from ... BB Doctor Bob's Nightmare, pp.177-178

I put on thirty pounds of weight in about two months, looked like a pig, and was uncomfortable from shortness of breath.

17.

... like a purposeless and pointless piece of ... 12&12 Step Eight, p.77

This reopening of emotional wounds, some old, some perhaps forgotten, and some still painfully festering, will at first look like a purposeless and pointless piece of surgery.

18.

... like a ski-jump. BB Bill's Story, p.7

The curve of my declining moral and bodily health fell off like a ski-jump.

19.

... like a thunderbolt, a great thought came. BB We Agnostics, p.56

Then, like a thunderbolt, a great thought came.

20.

... like a tornado roaring his way through ... BB Into Action, p.82

The alcoholic is like a tornado roaring his way through the lives of others.

21.

... like a very big coin. 12&12 Tradition Seven, p.163

Somehow it looked like a very big coin.

22.

... like a very dubious and improbable state ... 12&12 Step Twelve, p.106

To new A.A.'s, this often seems like a very dubious and improbable state of affairs.

23.

... like a year. BB More About Alcoholism, p.34

We think few, to whom this book will appeal, can stay dry anything like a year.

24.

... like alcoholics, so we thought we'd build ... 12&12 Tradition Six, p.155

Hospitals didn't like alcoholics, so we thought we'd build a hospital chain of our own.

25.

... like all other societies, we do have ... 12&12 Step Twelve, p.117

But just like all other societies, we do have sex and marital problems, and sometimes they are distressingly acute.

26.

Like all the remaining Steps, Step Three ... 12&12 Step Three, p.34

27.

... like an actor who wants to run ... BB How It Works, p.60

Each person is like an actor who wants to run the whole show; is forever trying to arrange the lights, the ballet, the scenery and the rest of the players in his own way.

28.

... like an avalanche. 12&12 Tradition Two, p.133

Problems descend like an avalanche.

29.

... like an opportunity to be helpful, so ... BB To Employers, p.138

This seemed to me like an opportunity to be helpful, so I spent two hours talking about alcoholism, the malady, and described the symptoms and results as well as I could.

30.

... like Einstein's theory of relativity or a ... 12&12 Step Three, p.35

Maybe this all sounds mysterious and remote, something like Einstein's theory of relativity or a proposition in nuclear physics.

31.

... like everybody else, we were afflicted with ... BB To Wives, p.116

We wives found that, like everybody else, we were afflicted with pride, self-pity, vanity and all the things which go to make up the self-centered person; and we were not above selfishness or dishonesty.

32.

... like flickering candles in a windstorm. 12&12 Tradition Three, p.139

Hardly an alcoholic we approached paid any attention; most of those who did join us were like flickering candles in a windstorm.

33.

... like half of us thought we were ... BB We Agnostics, p.44

But cheer up, something like half of us thought we were atheists or agnostics.

34.

... like him. BB More About Alcoholism, p.43

We hope it strikes home to thousands like him.

35.

... like him. BB To Wives, p.109

This world is full of people like him.

36.

... like him, and have found the riddle's ... 12&12 Step Two, p.32

There are too many of us who have been just like him, and have found the riddle's answer.

37.

... like him to approach you if the ... BB Working With Others, p.90

You need this information to put yourself in his place, to see how you would like him to approach you if the tables were turned.

38.

... like him to be. BB The Family Afterward, p.126

If not irritable, he may seem dull and boring, not gay and affectionate as the family would like him to be.

39.

... like him who "view with alarm for ... 12&12 Tradition Nine, p.173

He and all like him who "view with alarm for the good of A.A." meet the most stubborn resistance or, worse still, laughter.

40.

... like himself, a spiritual life which does ... BB The Family Afterward, p.129

He will perceive that his spiritual growth is lopsided, that for an average man like himself, a spiritual life which does not include his family obligations may not be so perfect after all.

41.

... like himself, have recovered. BB To Wives, p.113

He knows that thousands of men, much like himself, have recovered.

42.

... like, in any case, to be friendly. BB Working With Others, p.95

But point out that we alcoholics have much in common and that you would like, in any case, to be friendly.

43.

... like infants ourselves, that people protect and ... 12&12 Step Twelve, p.115

When we had taken the opposite tack and had insisted, like infants ourselves, that people protect and take care of us or that the world owed us a living, then the result had been equally unfortunate.

44.

... like it. BB We Agnostics, p.53

We still like it.

45.

... like it. BB To Wives, p.106

The unexpected result was that our husbands seemed to like it.

46.

... like it. 12&12 Tradition Six, p.156

We'd form groups of depressive and paranoid folks; the deeper the neurosis, the better we'd like it.

47.

... like it understood that our alcoholic work ... BB Foreword to First Edition, p.xiii

We would like it understood that our alcoholic work is an avocation.

48.

... like men who have lost their legs; ... BB More About Alcoholism, p.30

We are like men who have lost their legs; they never grow new ones.

49.

... like most everybody does when afraid. 12&12 Tradition Three, p.140

Naturally, we began to act like most everybody does when afraid.

50.

Like most people, we have found that ... 12&12 Step Twelve, p.114

Like most people, we have found that we can take our big lumps as they come.

51.

Like myself, he had admitted complete defeat. BB Bill's Story, p.11

Like myself, he had admitted complete defeat.

52.

... like Napoleon returning from Elba. BB Bill's Story, p.4

I felt like Napoleon returning from Elba.

53.

... like now. BB How It Works, p.58

Our stories disclose in a general way what we used to be like, what happened, and what we are like now.

54.

... like number two he became worse. BB To Wives, p.109

Though once like number two he became worse.

55.

... like one. BB To Employers, p.147

You act like one.

56.

... like one prodigious squabble than anything else, ... 12&12 Tradition Ten, p.177

Before we leveled off a bit, A.A. looked more like one prodigious squabble than anything else, at least on the surface.

57.

... like other men. BB There Is A Solution, p.22

We know that while the alcoholic keeps away from drink, as he may do for months or years, he reacts much like other men.

58.

... like other men. BB More About Alcoholism, pp.30-31

Neither does there appear to be any kind of treatment which will make alcoholics of our kind like other men.

59.

... like other men have begotten all sorts ... BB To Wives, p.105

Our loyalty and the desire that our husbands hold up their heads and be like other men have begotten all sorts of predicaments.

60.

... like other people. BB There Is A Solution, p.24

If these thoughts occur, they are hazy and readily supplanted with the old threadbare idea that this time we shall handle ourselves like other people.

61.

... like other people. BB More About Alcoholism, p.30

Therefore, it is not surprising that our drinking careers have been characterized by countless vain attempts to prove we could drink like other people.

62.

... like other people! BB More About Alcoholism, p.31

Heaven knows, we have tried hard enough and long enough to drink like other people!

63.

... like other people. BB To Wives, p.109

He is worried at times, and is becoming aware that he cannot drink like other people.

64.

... like other people, but does not see ... BB To Wives, p.110

He admits he cannot drink like other people, but does not see why.

65.

... like other people, or presently may be, ... BB More About Alcoholism, p.30

The delusion that we are like other people, or presently may be, has to be smashed.

66.

... like others, we often discover a greater ... 12&12 Step Twelve, p.114

But also like others, we often discover a greater challenge in the lesser and more continuous problems of life.

67.

... like our husbands to be. BB To Wives, p.118

We women carry with us a picture of the ideal man, the sort of chap we would like our husbands to be.

68.

... like our own. 12&12 Step Five, p.61

Difficulties, perhaps, like our own.

69.

Like our professional friends, we, too, are ... 12&12 Step Three, p.38

Like our professional friends, we, too, are aware that there are wrong forms of dependence.

70.

... like ourselves, were sick too. BB How It Works, p.67

Though we did not like their symptoms and the way these disturbed us, they, like ourselves, were sick too.

71.

... like parties which would be dull without ... BB To Wives, p.110

Perhaps you both like parties which would be dull without liquor.

72.

... like people in a sinking ship. BB A Vision For You, p.152

Near you, alcoholics are dying helplessly like people in a sinking ship.

73.

... like perfect adherence to these principles. BB How It Works, p.60

No one among us has been able to maintain anything like perfect adherence to these principles.

74.

... like real peace of mind. 12&12 Step Seven, p.74

We enjoy moments in which there is something like real peace of mind.

75.

... like restraint of tongue and pen. 12&12 Step Ten, p.91

Nothing pays off like restraint of tongue and pen.

76.

... like snow in June. BB To Wives, p.106

The checking account melted like snow in June.

77.

... like snow in springtime. 12&12 Tradition Seven, p.164

The reserve was melting like snow in springtime.

78.

... like so much, and then asked me ... BB More About Alcoholism, p.42

They grinned, which I didn't like so much, and then asked me if I thought myself alcoholic and if I were really licked this time.

79.

Like so much of A.A.'s basic text, ... BB Foreword to Fourth Edition, p.xxiii

Like so much of A.A.'s basic text, those words have proved to be far more visionary than the founding members could ever have imagined.

80.

... like some of them. BB To Wives, p.119

You may not like some of them.

81.

... like some righteous people I see? BB A Vision For You, p.152

But am I to be consigned to a life where I shall be stupid, boring and glum, like some righteous people I see?

82.

... like tardiness. 12&12 Step Eleven, p.103

We have seen A.A.'s ask with much earnestness and faith for God's explicit guidance on matters ranging all the way from a shattering domestic or financial crisis to correcting a minor personal fault, like tardiness.

83.

... like tempting Providence, but it isn't. BB Working With Others, p.101

To a person who has had experience with an alcoholic, this may seem like tempting Providence, but it isn't.

84.

... like that. BB Bill's Story, p.9

Drinkers are like that.

85.

... like that. BB Bill's Story, p.15

With us it is just like that.

86.

... like that? BB Into Action, p.81

In fairness we must say that she may understand, but what are we going to do about a thing like that?

87.

... like that. BB To Wives, p.113

Many of Alcoholics Anonymous were like that.

88.

... like that." BB A Vision For You, p.157

Over and over, he would say: "That's me. That's me. I drink like that."

89.

... like that, A.A. had a very special ... 12&12 Step Twelve, p.117

For those of us who were like that, A.A. had a very special meaning.

90.

... like that day the boiler burst in ... 12&12 Tradition Four, p.149

Then came the inevitable explosion -- something like that day the boiler burst in Wombley's Clapboard Factory.

91.

... like that"; or, most important, "Yes, I ... BB Preface, p.xii

If you have a drinking problem, we hope that you may pause in reading one of the forty-two personal stories and think: "Yes, that happened to me"; or, more important, "Yes, I've felt like that"; or, most important, "Yes, I believe this program can work for me too."

92.

... like that, too; it helps to envision ... 12&12 Step Eleven, p.100

Well, meditation is like that, too; it helps to envision our spiritual objective before we try to move toward it.

93.

... like the alcoholic's first drink it would, ... 12&12 Tradition Seven, p.164

Compared to this prospect, the ten thousand dollars under consideration wasn't much, but like the alcoholic's first drink it would, if taken, inevitably set up a disastrous chain reaction.

94.

... like the devil and thank you to ... BB To Employers, p.149

He will work like the devil and thank you to his dying day.

95.

... like the effect produced by alcohol. BB The Doctor's Opinion, p.xxviii

Men and women drink essentially because they like the effect produced by alcohol.

96.

... like the experience of an occasional retreat ... 12&12 Step Ten, p.89

Many of us also like the experience of an occasional retreat from the outside world where we can quiet down for an undisturbed day or so of self-overhaul and meditation.

97.

... like the farmer who came up out ... BB Into Action, p.82

He is like the farmer who came up out of his cyclone cellar to find his home ruined.

98.

... like the following take on a world ... 12&12 Step Four, p.43

Simple examples like the following take on a world of meaning when we think about them.

99.

... like the Greenland Ice Cap, and even ... BB Working With Others, p.101

His only chance for sobriety would be some place like the Greenland Ice Cap, and even there an Eskimo might turn up with a bottle of scotch and ruin everything!

100.

... like the hole in the doughnut." 12&12 Step Three, p.36

I'll look like the hole in the doughnut."

101.

... like the idea. BB Bill's Story, p.12

I didn't like the idea.

102.

... like the idea that God has accomplished ... BB The Family Afterward, p.128

While grateful that he drinks no more, they may not like the idea that God has accomplished the miracle where they failed.

103.

... like the individual, must eventually conform to ... 12&12 Tradition Four, p.146

We saw that the group, exactly like the individual, must eventually conform to whatever tested principles would guarantee survival.

104.

... like the opening of a door which ... 12&12 Step Three, p.34

Practicing Step Three is like the opening of a door which to all appearances is still closed and locked.

105.

... like the passengers of a great liner ... BB There Is A Solution, p.17

We are like the passengers of a great liner the moment after rescue from shipwreck when camaraderie, joyousness and democracy pervade the vessel from steerage to Captain's table.

106.

... like the philosophy of the man who, ... BB There Is A Solution, p.23

They sound like the philosophy of the man who, having a headache, beats himself on the head with a hammer so that he can't feel the ache.

107.

... like the plague. BB Working With Others, p.98

Argument and fault-finding are to be avoided like the plague.

108.

... like the retired business man who lolls ... BB How It Works, p.61

He is like the retired business man who lolls in the Florida sunshine in the winter complaining of the sad state of the nation; the minister who sighs over the sins of the twentieth century; politicians and reformers who are sure all would be Utopia if the rest of the world would only behave; the outlaw safe cracker who thinks society has wronged him; and the alcoholic who has lost all and is locked up.

109.

View APPENDIX VII, Twelve Concepts (Short Form)

... like the Society it serves, it will ... BB Appendix VII, Twelve Concepts (Short Form), p.575

XII. The Conference shall observe the spirit of A.A. tradition, taking care that it never becomes the seat of perilous wealth or power; that sufficient operating funds and reserve be its prudent financial principle; that it place none of its members in a position of unqualified authority over others; that it reach all important decisions by discussion, vote, and, whenever possible, by substantial unanimity; that its actions never be personally punitive nor an incitement to public controversy; that it never perform acts of government, and that, like the Society it serves, it will always remain democratic in thought and action.

110.

... like the thought that the contents of ... BB To Wives, p.118

We do not like the thought that the contents of a book or the work of another alcoholic has accomplished in a few weeks that for which we struggled for years.

111.

... like their symptoms and the way these ... BB How It Works, p.67

Though we did not like their symptoms and the way these disturbed us, they, like ourselves, were sick too.

112.

... like their true purpose and direction. 12&12 Step Twelve, p.124

But today, in well-matured A.A.'s, these distorted drives have been restored to something like their true purpose and direction.

113.

... like these. 12&12 Tradition Eleven, p.180

It is no exaggeration to say that half of A.A.'s membership has been led to us through channels like these.

114.

... like these: In addition to my drinking ... 12&12 Step Four, p.51

Surveying his business or employment record, almost any alcoholic can ask questions like these: In addition to my drinking problem, what character defects contributed to my financial instability?

115.

... like these, more of which will come ... 12&12 Step Four, p.52

Questions like these, more of which will come to mind easily in each individual case, will help turn up the root causes.

116.

... like this? BB There Is A Solution, p.22

Why does he behave like this?

117.

... like this. BB To Wives, p.110

You can be quite hopeful of a situation like this.

118.

... like this: BB To Employers, p.141

Suppose an approach is made something like this:

119.

... like this: 12&12 Step Six, p.63

He will usually offer his proof in a statement like this:

120.

... like this. 12&12 Step Eleven, p.99

Well, we might start like this.

121.

... like this: 12&12 Step Eleven, pp.100-101

When, by such simple devices, we have placed ourselves in a mood in which we can focus undisturbed on constructive imagination, we might proceed like this:

122.

... like this are heard daily. 12&12 Step Six, p.64

In A.A. meetings all over the world, statements just like this are heard daily.

123.

... like this around here. You'll have to ... 12&12 Tradition Three, p.143

They said firmly, "You can't talk like this around here. You'll have to quit it or get out."

124.

... like this! I have everything to live ... BB The Doctor's Opinion, p.xxix

Men have cried out to me in sincere and despairing appeal: "Doctor, I cannot go on like this! I have everything to live for! I must stop, but I cannot! You must help me!"

125.

... like this: Looking at both past and ... 12&12 Step Four, p.52

Questioning directed to this end might run like this: Looking at both past and present, what sex situations have caused me anxiety, bitterness, frustration, or depression?

126.

... like this: "My Creator, I am now ... BB Into Action, p.76

When ready, we say something like this: "My Creator, I am now willing that you should have all of me, good and bad.

127.

... like this one. 12&12 Step One, p.21

No other kind of bankruptcy is like this one.

128.

... like this one? 12&12 Tradition Six, p.158

Straightway he appeared at New York's A.A. headquarters, asking, "Is there anything in our tradition that suggests I shouldn't take a job like this one?

129.

... like those who had insisted the Wrights ... BB We Agnostics, pp.52-53

When others showed us that "God-sufficiency" worked with them, we began to feel like those who had insisted the Wrights would never fly.

130.

... like to? BB To Wives, p.112

Just would he like to?

131.

... like to be assured that the grace ... 12&12 Step Seven, p.76

We would like to be assured that the grace of God can do for us what we cannot do for ourselves.

132.

... like to be helpful to such cases. BB Foreword to First Edition, p.xiv

We should like to be helpful to such cases.

133.

... like to call it nowadays. BB How It Works, p.61

Our actor is self-centered -- ego-centric, as people like to call it nowadays.

134.

... like to call the fourth dimension of ... BB Bill's Story, p.8

I was soon to be catapulted into what I like to call the fourth dimension of existence.

135.

... like to feel just a little superior ... 12&12 Step Six, p.66

Who, for example, doesn't like to feel just a little superior to the next fellow, or even quite a lot superior?

136.

... like to get over drinking for good. BB To Wives, p.112

But after his next binge, ask him if he would really like to get over drinking for good.

137.

... like to help other drinkers. BB To Wives, p.112

Drinkers like to help other drinkers.

138.

... like to keep him, but cannot if ... BB To Employers, p.141

You might say you appreciate his abilities, would like to keep him, but cannot if he continues to drink.

139.

... like to let greed masquerade as ambition? 12&12 Step Six, p.66

Isn't it true that we like to let greed masquerade as ambition?

140.

... like to live at peace with himself ... 12&12 Step Seven, p.76

Each of us would like to live at peace with himself and with his fellows.

141.

... like to lose our support. BB We Agnostics, p.53

Perhaps we had been leaning too heavily on Reason that last mile and we did not like to lose our support.

142.

... like to pronounce any individual as alcoholic, ... BB More About Alcoholism, p.31

We do not like to pronounce any individual as alcoholic, but you can quickly diagnose yourself.

143.

... like to strive for whether our instinctual ... 12&12 Step Seven, p.72

Seldom did we look at character-building as something desirable in itself, something we would like to strive for whether our instinctual needs were met or not.

144.

... like us, are suffering from the pains ... 12&12 Step Ten, p.92

It will become more and more evident as we go forward that it is pointless to become angry, or to get hurt by people who, like us, are suffering from the pains of growing up.

145.

... like us, go through the emotional wringer. 12&12 Step Eleven, p.99

We won't be biased or scared off by that fact, because although he was not an alcoholic he did, like us, go through the emotional wringer.

146.

... like us is the one aim that ... 12&12 Tradition Five, p.151

This is our gift from God, and its bestowal upon others like us is the one aim that today animates A.A.'s all around the globe.

147.

Like us, they had suddenly found themselves ... 12&12 Tradition One, p.131

Like us, they had suddenly found themselves saved from death, but still floating upon a perilous sea.

148.

... like us to keep our heads in ... BB The Family Afterward, p.130

We have come to believe He would like us to keep our heads in the clouds with Him, but that our feet ought to be firmly planted on earth.

149.

... like, what happened, and what we are ... BB How It Works, p.58

Our stories disclose in a general way what we used to be like, what happened, and what we are like now.

150.

... like you are too heartbreaking. BB More About Alcoholism, p.43

People like you are too heartbreaking.

151.

... like you -- far too smart for our ... 12&12 Step Two, p.29

To these, many A.A.'s can say, "Yes, we were like you -- far too smart for our own good.

152.

... like you has begun to solve the ... 12&12 Step Two, p.27

Many a man like you has begun to solve the problem by the method of substitution.

153.

... like you to feel that we understand ... BB To Wives, p.104

As wives of Alcoholics Anonymous, we would like you to feel that we understand as perhaps few can.

154.

... like yours. 12&12 Step Two, p.27

When I first looked at A.A. my reaction was just like yours.

155.

... like yourself, he is just beginning his ... BB To Wives, p.118

The chances are he will not for, like yourself, he is just beginning his development.

The 164 and More™ Book, eBook, and Web Site are all CONCORDANCES which display passages from the Big Book Alcoholics Anonymous, the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, and the A.A. Grapevine (A.A. Preamble only). Sorting and rendering passages in the proprietary format of the 164 and More concordance does not in any way imply affiliation with or endorsement by either Alcoholics Anonymous World Services Inc., or the A.A. Grapevine, Inc. Further A.A.W.S. Inc. and the A.A. Grapevine Inc. have no objection to the use of this material in the 164 and More concordance.

Top

"164 and More" Home Page