Quote:
Originally Posted by The Phoenix does it mean to do something crazy & unusual ?
for example can i say :
driving that fast was going off the beaten path or does it mean more doing something new ?
ex :
i decided to go off the beaten path and to go camping ( or go hiking ... etc ) please give me an example |
It means simply to do something in a different fashion, the "beaten path" being the way a majority of people (perhaps including the speaker) have previously accomplished a task or reached a goal.
The comparison is to following a footpath from one point to another, but the meaning is construed as anything other than that comparison.
I don't know that I would refer to driving too fast as going off the beaten path. There have been stories recently about people using creative methods of finding a job, such as putting up a billboard to advertise themselves. Compared to the traditional process of sending a resume to a potential employer, a billboard is certainly off the beaten path.