out of the way
356
2.6
- idiom
:
a un lado
- I looked forward to getting the evening chores out of the way and sitting down to supper.
- get out of the way
- stay out of the way
- move out of the way
Just believe that capitalism would work great if landlords just got out of the way and let the free market be free.
- Just believe that capitalism would work great if landlords just got out of the way and let the free market be free.
- But once you've removed those things, just get out of the way.
- It's like skidding and people are jumping out of the way screaming because it's like, no, no, it's fine.
- And this man has a chariot and tells him to get the hell out of the way.
Examples
-
Thousands of Indians would be running out of the way of bulldozers.
Academic text (1997) -
You can either lend a hand or get out of the way.
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Would you get out of the way?
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Just put it out of the way.
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Then would you mind moving it out of the way?
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Move out of the way!
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Move out of the way.
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(yelling) -(honking) -Get out of the way, please.
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Burt places the other bombs safely out of the way behind a ledge.
Fiction book (1990) -
Please move out of the way so that I can pass.
Synonyms
337
1.2
To one side, away from where attention is
Antonyms
How Obstructive
Surface Forms
Morphology
The literal composition 'out' + 'of' + 'the' + 'way' yields 'not in the way,' so a learner who knows the parts can readily infer a general sense of 'removed' or 'no longer obstructing.' However, the extension to the specific sense 'killed or violently removed' is a pragmatic/idiomatic shift that is not fully predictable from the constituents, so the expression is only partially transparent.
Etymology
Out of the way comes from a simple picture: you push a chair out of the way so it no longer blocks your path. So it means 'not blocking' or moved aside.