the.com/abstinence
The one diet plan with a 100% success rate and a 0% participation rate.
means The deliberate choice to go without something — food, drink, pleasure — that you'd otherwise enjoy or crave.
from From Latin abstinentia, from abstinere — 'to hold oneself back,' combining ab- ('away') with tenere ('to hold'). The same tenere root gives us 'contain,' 'detain,' and 'sustain' — all variations on holding something, including yourself, in check.
- etymology twist
- Shares a root with 'tenant' and 'contain'
- ancient use
- Stoics practiced it as mental training, not punishment
- modern irony
- Abstinence-only programs often correlate with higher pregnancy rates
- vs moderation
- Moderation negotiates; abstinence just refuses to answer