Some AA meeting names tell you when to show up. Others make you suspect you’ve found your people.
Santa Fe offers Boozers in Bathrobes, Tougher than Boiled Owls, Not High Nooners, and Full Flight From Reality. Apparently, getting sober doesn’t mean surrendering your vocabulary—or, for an online meeting, necessarily getting dressed.
A special Hall of Fame Namer designation goes to Grubbsy’s son, credited in the account shared for this post with the inspiration behind Boozers in Bathrobes and with naming Tougher than Boiled Owls. Two names. Lifetime achievement. “Boiled as an owl,” for those unfamiliar with the old expression, meant drunk. Tougher than that? There’s a recovery aspiration.
Our neighbors contribute nicely. Albuquerque has Dog on the Roof Group, a name I almost don’t want explained. Rio Rancho offers Mixed Nuts & Coconuts and Drunkin’ Donuts. Phoenix lists Drunkin Donuts without the apostrophe. Even the punctuation enjoys group autonomy.
Farther afield, there’s Sober Horse Thieves in Brooklyn, Tools & Fools in Scottsdale, and Better Than a Hangover Group in Calgary. That last one sets a practical standard for the morning.
Some names reward doing the reading. Rebellion Dogs, also found in Albuquerque, turns a verb into a pack of questionable companions. In Step Seven of the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, the sentence reads: “Rebellion dogs our every step at first.” Page 73
Santa Fe’s Jaywalkers and Queer Ideas of Fun (Open to All) echo the Big Book’s illustration of someone repeatedly running into traffic while promising to be more careful. Recognition can be uncomfortable. A good name makes it memorable. Pages 37–38
Then there’s Wombley Clapboard Factory, a real meeting listed in Jasper, Georgia. Its literary counterpart suffers a boiler explosion in the Twelve and Twelve—on the same page that gives us Rule 62: “Don’t take yourself too damn seriously.” A useful instruction, particularly when standing in the wreckage of your own excellent ideas. Meeting listing· Page 149
And “Mr. Brown Needs an Ass-Kicking” deserves an honorable mention in the T-shirt division. Mr. Brown appears in the sample resentment inventory on page 65 of the Big Book. The slogan suggests its wearer has studied the inventory closely and is still negotiating the spiritual conclusion. Page 65
These names offer a little recognition before the meeting even begins. You can arrive frightened, skeptical, stubborn, or wearing yesterday’s sweatpants and discover that somebody has already found words for the condition.
The work is serious. A little laughter helps us show up for it.
What’s your favorite real AA meeting name—and is there a story behind it?
Meeting names come from published AA directories; the comments here are affectionate interpretations, not verified accounts of how each group chose its name. “Grubbsy’s son” is a real live Santa Fe recovered alcoholic. We’re lucky to have him!
