If you or a loved one face substance misuse challenges, Landmark Recovery can guide you towards recovery. “We agree to abstain from all liquors of an intoxicating quality whether ale, porter, wine or ardent spirits, except as medicine.” In Dublin, the Pioneer Total Abstinence Association of the Sacred Heart (Pioneers) was founded in 1898 by another priest, James Cullen. However, Dr. F. R. Lees says that Turner did not coin the term, but only applied it. Lees is a source of the “archaic usage” claim and says that Turner was using a term that had been in use in Ireland and Lancashire for a hundred years, and which could be found in the literature of England long before Turner used it.

A Toast to Teetotalers

In other words, temperance began as a movement calling for abstinence from hard liquors like whiskey, rum, gin, etc. Wine, beer, and cider were often accepted and even recommended as a good substitute for hard spirits. Turner spoke of “signing the pledge.” Stories are also told that Temperance Societies would have people sign moderation pledges or total pledges. Those taking the total pledge would place a “T” after their name so that they became known as T-totalers, and later, teetotalers.

• A teetotaler is a person who abstains from consuming alcohol in all its devilishly delightful forms.
• If you or a loved one face substance misuse challenges, Landmark Recovery can guide you towards recovery.
• Informal annual events such as “Dry January” or “Sober October” also encourage participants to abstain from alcohol and promote their abstinence on social media.
• Not all of those in recovery are teetotalers, nor is it a requirement of being in recovery.
• However, Dr. F. R. Lees says that Turner did not coin the term, but only applied it.

A teetotaler is a person who abstains from consuming alcohol in all its devilishly delightful forms. 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. 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. Informal annual events such as “Dry January” or “Sober October” also encourage participants to abstain from alcohol and promote their abstinence on social media. Although the temperance movement died out in the United States in the early 20th century with the failure of Prohibition, alcohol abstinence was the foundation for a new movement focused on recovery from addiction.

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

It was encouraged among the working class, whereas moderation was more readily accepted among the upper classes, who could afford wine. In other words, someone, or more than one person, may have referred to them as teetotalers, using a known word, and only later was it supposed that this came about because of the “T” written on the pledge rolls. Whether this is true, or whether the word came about independently at around the same time in Both England and U.S., the evidence cannot show. Instead, the word “teetotal” or “tee-total” appears in a great many publications from 1830 onward. Indeed, as early as 1830, and probably before, temperance societies were known as “teetotal societies.” What’s more, the word appears in American printed publications almost as often as British publications and also appears in Irish ones. Whether it was an old term by the time Turner used it, we can say that it is almost beyond doubt that he did NOT invent it.

Teetotalers in the 19th century who belonged to temperance societies typically signed a pledge promising to abstain from alcohol. Some societies also issued a pledge card that featured the member’s name, the date of the pledge, and other details, such as the name and logo of the temperance society or illustrations depicting the miseries of drinking compared with the happiness of sobriety. In the 19th century, the Preston Temperance Society in England and, later, the American Temperance Union encouraged a pledge of abstinence from intoxicating liquor, as part of the temperance movement. Those who had signed the pledge were asked to use a T with their signature to mean “total abstinence.” The T plus the “total” led to those who’d signed the pledge being called T-totallers or teetotallers. But that still doesn’t mean that the term was not used in England and that it was not already a known word. People often invent origin tales of this sort when somewhat archaic words are used, and then a similarity is noticed, such as the “T” meaning total and total abstinence pledgers being known as teetotalers.

What’s the difference between ‘fascism’ and ‘socialism’?

These movements promoted reduced alcohol consumption or complete abstinence. Richard Turner, a British advocate of the temperance movement, reportedly coined the word. The “tee” in “teetotal” emphasizes “total,” meaning absolute abstinence instead of moderate drinking. Teetotalism is the practice of abstaining from alcohol consumption entirely. Individuals who embrace teetotalism may choose this lifestyle for various reasons, including religious beliefs, health concerns, or personal preferences. It promotes the idea of living a life without alcohol, which can lead to a range of social, health, and psychological benefits.

Reasons Someone Might Choose Teetotalism or Abstinence

He argued that the only true path to a life of wild excitement was total abstinence from alcohol. Later, attitudes changed and wine, beer, and cider came to be seen as just as much of a problem as spirits. Therefore the temperance movement began to call for total abstinence from all alcohol-containing beverages. You could still practice moderation, and only cut out spirits, but you were encouraged to be a teetotaler.

Word History and Origins

Instead, Turner was induced to sign the pledge and then later became a well-known temperance advocate and speaker, who probably made many impassioned speeches. The idea that Turner made an impassioned speech on total abstinence after wandering into a meeting one day seems to be an invention. It is sometimes claimed that he put the “tee” at the beginning for the general reason described above, as emphasis. Still another claim is that Turner didn’t invent the word, but that it was an archaic word from the Lancashire dialect. At the beginning of the temperance movement, most temperance teetotalism meaning societies didn’t see anything wrong with wine, beer, or cider. Landmark Recovery was founded with a determination to make addiction treatment accessible for all.

• The practice gained traction in a cultural climate that increasingly recognized the detrimental effects of alcohol on health and social behavior.
• It is therefore likely that Richard Turner only used a word already colloquially current in the general sense of absolute, complete.
• The term was in use as early as 1836 when an explanation of it as meaning “total abstainer” appeared in print.
• Teetotalism isn’t just a lifestyle choice; it can be a vital part of one’s recovery journey.
• They recruited other people in their community, even non-alcoholics, and held regular meetings in which they shared their experiences with drinking and sobriety.
• Another quite silly, origin claim is that the “tee” started as “tea” and referred to drinking tea (or other beverages) instead of alcohol.
• Lees is a source of the “archaic usage” claim and says that Turner was using a term that had been in use in Ireland and Lancashire for a hundred years, and which could be found in the literature of England long before Turner used it.

Some common reasons for choosing teetotalism are psychological, religious, health,14 medical, philosophical, social, political, past alcoholism, or simply preference. Total abstinence from all intoxicating drinks, is a principle of English manufacture. We sent over the old ardent spirit pledge; but after all, it did not touch the English beer, and good old brown stout, wine, nor the delicate cordials for the ladies. All these were untouched, and the graves of the drunkards were filling up as fast as ever; and those they had drawn a little away from the gin palaces, they soon found were drunkards still—for such found they could keep the old pledge, and go to bed drunk every night. So they adopted what they called the ‘te-total’ pledge—(though I don’t like the name.) They sent that back again to us; and it was really gratifying to them to find that there was a Total Abstinence Society in America. According to a publication by the Centennial Temperance Conference (CTC) of Philadelphia in 1885, “One Hundred Years of Temperance,” though, there was an American society that used a total abstinence pledge as early as 1826 and used the word “Teetotal” as early as 1827.

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The term was in use as early as 1836 when an explanation of it as meaning “total abstainer” appeared in print.

Not drinking alcohol can improve liver function, reduce blood pressure, and decrease the risk of alcohol-related diseases. In history, women becoming teetotallers was often an expression of religious values, or was based on general social reform principles. In the modern world, some women become teetotallers for such reasons, and others because of a past history of alcoholism or alcohol abuse. Assembly of God, Baha’i, Christian Science, Islam, Jainism, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS. also known as the Mormon Church), Seventh-day Adventist Church, the Church of Christ, Sikhism, Salvation Army.

The term “teetotal” often appears in discussions about alcohol consumption. This article explores the meaning of teetotalism, its historical background, and its significance for some of those pursuing a life of recovery. Teetotalism involves the commitment to abstain from alcohol and similar substances, often promoted for health, moral, or social reasons. It advocates a lifestyle that avoids any consumption of alcoholic products. So, the next time you’re at a social gathering and you see someone proudly declaring their teetotal lifestyle, raise a glass of your alcoholic beverage and toast to their decision to live life on the wild side of sobriety. 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.