bleeding deacon n.— «There is also no professional clergy, but true-believing Program oldtimers are often referred to, more or less affectionately, as “bleeding deacons.”» —“A.A.: America’s Stealth Religion” by...
bleeding deacon n.— «Even in aftercare or AA, if this quality of rigidity continues, it can reach a point where patients are no longer viewed by their peers in recovery as a zealot for the program but as “bleeding deacons” who...