out of the way
38
8.2
- idiom
- Offensive
:
quitar del medio
- "But aren't they better off with the judge out of the way?" she asked.
- want someone out of the way
- put someone out of the way
Examples
-
Somebody up there wants you out of the way.
Fiction book (1991) -
No, the corpo wanted him off-planet and out of the way.
Fiction book (1991) -
I know you want me out of the way.
-
Government needs to get the hell out of the way and let Americans live their lives!
Blog text (12) -
Liandrin would not have tried to put us out of the way unless she thought we were a threat to her.
Fiction book (1991) -
That's why he wants me out of the way.
Fiction book (1992) -
Vicky pushed Lynne out of the way and kept running.
Fiction book (1991) -
With Nathanson out of the way and with the Gaumont proposal quashed, Zukor quickly secured his control over the company.
Academic text (2006) -
We want to get our judging, commenting, abstracting self out of the way—this self-conscious, self-reflecting entity.
Academic text (1995) -
He was eliminated from the competition because he was seen as an obstacle that needed to be out of the way.
Synonyms
948
1.9
To remove something from a place or container
13
4.2
To stop something completely using strong action
9
4.3
Already finished and no longer needing attention
Antonyms
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 was once used about removing a person who was a problem, with the idea of putting them out of the way so they cannot block you, even by violent means. So in dark or criminal talk it can mean 'killed' or permanently removed.