road less traveled
3
6.8
- noun
- Informal
:
camino menos transitado
- Many people opt for the traditional career path, but she decided to take the road less traveled by pursuing her passion for art.
- take the road less traveled
Gordo is a guy who kind of took the road less traveled.
- Gordo is a guy who kind of took the road less traveled.
- I'm just going to tell you right now, you were born to be on the road less traveled.
Examples
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Those who took the road less traveled, however, are more than glad they did so because it led them to discover the bluesy charm of Mississippi.
Blog text (29) -
I took the road less traveled by, and it made all the difference.
-
We elect to take the road less traveled.
Blog text (8) -
Hi Sally, I admire you for taking the road less traveled and caring for your mother.
Blog text (7) -
Driven by his own intention, Kohl took the road less traveled.
Blog text (11) -
The road less traveled seemed to beckon; my spirit began to soar.
Blog text (28) -
Choosing the road less traveled often involves risking uncertainty but can lead to unique opportunities.
-
He forged his own path in business, confidently taking the road less traveled instead of following the crowd.
Synonyms
9
6.0
In a place most people do not visit
3
6.5
In a place far from where most people go
Antonyms
How Unconventional
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly built from the constituents: 'less traveled' clearly means 'traveled less often', so 'road less traveled' denotes a path that few people take and by extension an uncommon choice. This metaphoric extension is straightforward and cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows the words can reliably infer the idiomatic sense.
Etymology
Road less traveled comes from Robert Frost's poem 'The Road Not Taken', where a traveler must choose between two paths and picks the path with fewer footprints. So the image of a quiet road that is less traveled, which few people use, explains why the phrase means making a choice that is 'not common' or 'different'.