To a newcomer,
walking into an AA meeting can seem like entering a foreign
country with its own language. Unfamiliar quotes, strange acronyms, and
idiomatic catch-phrases are casually thrown about in normal conversation. To
someone who has never heard them before, it's often very hard to follow
along. What may be needed is an 'AA to English' dictionary for
those just beginning in the program. This is an attempt at that project.
Use the following links as a guide of the language often heard
around and during AA meetings. Please keep in mind the definition accompanying
each term is the interpretation of one person, and may have regional differences . These definitions were taken, adapted and/or paraphrased from
many sources but particularly from the books Alcoholics Anonymous and
Twelve Steps & Twelve Traditions.
Click on the appropriate letter(s) to see the definitions:
