''Adam's ale'' (also referred to as ''Adam's wine'', especially in Scotland; sometimes simply called ''Adam'') is a colloquial allusion meaning

water Water (chemical formula ) is an Inorganic compound, inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living ...

. It alludes to the idea that the biblical Adam had only water to drink. This inference gained popularity around the beginning of the 19th-century

temperance movement The temperance movement is a social movement promoting temperance or complete abstinence from consumption of alcoholic beverages. Participants in the movement typically criticize alcohol intoxication or promote teetotalism, and its leaders emph ...

Definition and origin

"Adam's ale" means unadulterated

, based on the presumption that the biblical first man Adam had only water to drink in the Garden of Eden. Common variations are "Adam's wine" in Scotland, and sometimes simply "Adam". The phrase is an

allusion Allusion is a figure of speech, in which an object or circumstance from unrelated context is referred to covertly or indirectly. It is left to the audience to make the direct connection. Where the connection is directly and explicitly stated (as ...

, colloquialism, epithet, and idiom. In common use until the mid- to late 20th century, usage of the phrase has declined. The earliest known printed occurrence of "Adam's ale" is attributed to

William Prynne William Prynne (1600 – 24 October 1669), an English lawyer, voluble author, polemicist and political figure, was a prominent Puritan opponent of church policy under William Laud, Archbishop of Canterbury (1633–1645). His views were presbyte ...

's ''The Soveraigne Power of Parliaments and Kingdomes'', which was first printed in 1643. Single occurrence dictionary definition sources for "Adam's ale":
Adam's Ale
ef. 1 (n.d.). In ''Merriam-Webster Online''. Retrieved July 16, 2015. *

Use in the temperance movement

The term "Adam's Ale" gained popularity during the emergence of the

in the 1830s. Single occurrence sources for "Adam's Ale" in relation to the

: * * Water is provided by nature and was therefore presumably the only drink available to the first man in the Garden of Eden; hence it was considered pure by the movement.Beggs, Thomas (1846).
The Proceedings of the World's Temperance Convention, 1846: Held in London, Aug, 4th and Four
'. p. 31. Print. During the proceedings of the World's Temperance Convention held in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

in the year 1846, the Rev. Dr. S. H. Cox, hailing from

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, New York, said during his speech: Philip freneau

at hurt will it do me to drink of this water?' Our father Adam had nothing better for his wedding-day, and before the earth was cursed, or sin had entered it, Paradise produced nothing better than this pure element. It was the drink of Adam and Eve when the morning stars sang together, and when the sons of God shouted for joy.

Philip Freneau Philip Morin Freneau (January 2, 1752 – December 18, 1832) was an American poet, nationalist, polemicist, sea captain and early American newspaper editor, sometimes called the "Poet of the American Revolution". Through his newspaper, th ...

wrote a poem that was an aid to the early

teetotalism Teetotalism is the practice or promotion of total personal abstinence from the psychoactive drug alcohol, specifically in alcoholic drinks. A person who practices (and possibly advocates) teetotalism is called a teetotaler or teetotaller, or is ...

movement. Freneau (an American) was captured in 1780 by the British while on a voyage in the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greate ...

during the

American War for Independence The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

. After his release he wrote the poem called "The erra CottaJug of Rum", criticizing alcoholic beverages. An excerpt from this literature shows a poetic use of "Adam's ale": Single occurrence sources for ''The erra CottaJug of Rum'' poem: * *

"A spring that never yet grew stale——
''Such virtue lies in''—!"

Later on Freneau used the phrase in a second poem concerning a legislative act prohibiting the use of spirituous liquors by prisoners in certain jails of the United States.

References

External links

* * * {{Adam and Eve, state=collapsed Adam and Eve English words and phrases Temperance movement Water English-language idioms

Definition and origin

Use in the temperance movement

See also

References

External links