Chapter 1 - page 5
hanger-on
"I became an unwelcome hanger-on at brokerage places."
1
Big Book - Bill's Story - page 5
In this sentence hanger-on is used as a noun. 2
Definitions from Webster's 1930 edition. 3
bathtub gin
"Bathtub" gin, two bottles a day, and often three, got to be routine."
1
Big Book - Bill's Story - page 5
The term Bathtub gin is not included in the 1930 edition of Webster's Dictionary.
Any alcoholic drink that is made by an amateur at home or in makeshift conditions. Refers to the use of bathtubs in creating illegal
alcohol (most often gin, hence the name) during the prohibition years in the USA.
4
From Wikipedia - Bathtub gin is a type of homemade, illicit spirit produced during the US Prohibition era (1920–1933) by mixing industrial alcohol with water, glycerin, and juniper berries for flavoring. Often concocted in small containers (rarely actual bathtubs), it was known for being low-quality, dangerous, and often consumed in speakeasies, requiring heavy mixers to mask its harsh taste. 5
Library of Congress - Public Domain
prodigious bender
"Then I went on a prodigious bender, and that chance vanished."
1
Big Book - Bill's Story - page 5
In this sentence prodigious is used as an adjective and bender functions as a noun. Together "prodigious bender" functions as a noun phrase. 2
Prodigious bender means an enormous drinking spree. The incident Bill is relating to occurred in January 1932. Bill had been introduced to two men through Lois' brother-in-law. (This might have been Gardner Swentzel, married to Lois's sister Katherine. Gardner was a stockbroker on Wall Street.) The three men formed an investment company, with Bill acting as the manager. The investors, knowing Bill’s past, told him he would be fired if he got drunk. A $2,000 check was given to Bill. Bill's first task was to travel to New Jersey and meet with a group of engineers from the Pathé Company. They had developed a new photographic process, which Bill was to evaluate as a possible investment opportunity. That night at a hotel Bill spent the evening playing cards with other men. Because the country was still under prohibition, the other players were drinking a local brew called "Jersey Lightning", something Bill had never tried. Bill resisted drinking at first, but then decided to take just a sip. The investors found out, and Bill was fired the next day over the phone. It took three days for Bill to return to Brooklyn. 6
Definitions from Webster's 1930 edition. 3
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Footnotes for page 5;
1Quotes from the Big Book on listed on this page are from the public domain version, in the United States, of the 2nd edition of the book Alcoholics Anonymous. Accessible at 12step.org
2Sentence diagramming, to determine the word usage within the sentence, was performed by CoreNLP at corenlp.run.
3Definitions used are from the Webster's New International Dictionary of the English Language 1930 Edition. Access to this dictionary online is at Hathitrust.org
4Bathtub gin from the Farlex Dictionary of Idioms
5Wikipedia entry for bathtub gin
6Historical event taken from the book "Bill W." by Francis Hartigan (2000), page 47.