fall off the wagon used backwards

[Mark A. Mandel]

Here's an exchange from an interview
(http://www.scifi.com/sfw/issue224/interview.html), in which the interviewer
uses "fall off the wagon" to mean 'lose a habit; fall out of a customary
behavior', exactly opposite in direction to its usual meaning of "break a
vow [of sobriety]". The interviewee, sf author Steven K.Z. Brust, takes it
in the meaning evidently intended, but I don't take that as proof that he
would have interpreted it that way if the context hadn't been so obvious.

>>>

Q: What about music? Do you still perform?

Brust: No, I don't spend any time performing. I just found out that here in
Vegas there's a coffee shop with an open stage. I was there, and the people
playing were bad enough that I could go in and look good. So I might try
that, for the hell of it.

Q: Do you still practice, or have you completely fallen off the wagon?

Brust: Not completely. But not very much. I play little things, take out the
drum and play that, haul out the guitar and the banjo occasionally. Of
course, when I go to a convention, I can't go without bringing a couple of
instruments. It's who I am, I guess. That's what I like to do at
conventions.

<<<

-- Mark A. Mandel