23 - abstemious

Abstemious

Original Source:

"He did not smoke, and of course he did not drink; indeed, he had never tasted spirits, and was inclined to avoid people who had - a circumstance that did not shrink his social circle as much as might be supposed, for the center of that circle was supplied by the members of Garden City's First Methodist Church, a congregation totaling seventeen hundred, most of whom were as abstemious as Mr. Clutter could desire.

Capote, Truman. In Cold Blood: A True Account of a Multiple Murder and its Consequences. New York: Vintage Books, 1994. Print.

Definition*:

1. sparing or moderate in eating and drinking; temperate in diet.
2. characterized by abstinence.

*All definitions are from the source found in THIS post.

Second Source:

"When her guests were awash with champagne and with gin, She was recklessly sober, as sharp as a pin. An abstemious man would reel at her look, As she rolled a bright eye and praised his last book."

"William Plomer quote." When her guests were awash with champagne.... N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Jan. 2014. <http://www.quotesea.com/quote/whenherguestswereawashwithchampagneand>.

Commentary:
The word abstemious was an unfamiliar word, but upon looking up the definition, I realized the meaning may have been obvious had I thought of its resemblance to the word abstinent. Capote, in the first source, describes men in Mr. Clutter's local church, to be as restrained as he is when on the subject of smoking and drinking. Plomer, in the second source, describes a moderate man who watches a sober woman in the midst of her drinking, possibly drunk guests.