Idioms

off the beaten track

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off the beaten track

1. Little-known, or in a remote or lesser-known area. Said especially of a business or destination. A "beaten track" refers to a route that is frequently traveled. We'll definitely be able to get a table at that restaurant, it's really off the beaten track. I chose that island as a vacation spot because I knew it was off the beaten track and would give me some much-needed solitude.
2. Pursuing or following a trend, development, method, etc., that is unique or atypical. I tend not to stray off the beaten track when it comes to books. I don't like stuff that's too experimental or academic. None of us were surprised when James decided to study yoga in India instead of going to college. He has always kept off the beaten track in life.
See also: beaten, off, track
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

*off the beaten track

 and *off the beaten path
Fig. away from the frequently traveled routes. (*Typically: be ~; go ~; travel ~.) We found a nice little Italian restaurant off the beaten track.
See also: beaten, off, track
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

off the beaten track

An unusual route or destination, as in We found a great vacation spot, off the beaten track. This term alludes to a well-worn path trodden down by many feet and was first recorded in 1860, although the phrase beaten track was recorded in 1638 in reference to the usual, unoriginal way of doing something.
See also: beaten, off, track
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

off the beaten track

BRITISH or

off the beaten path

AMERICAN
COMMON If a place is off the beaten track, it is far away from places where most people live or go. The house is sufficiently off the beaten track to deter all but a few tourists. Rents at these malls, which are generally off the beaten path, are lower than at most suburban shopping centers. Note: A track here is a footpath or narrow road.
See also: beaten, off, track
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012

off the beaten track (or path)

1 in or into an isolated place. 2 unusual.
2 1992 Iain Banks The Crow Road ‘Your Uncle Hamish…’ She looked troubled. ‘He's a bit off the beaten track, that boy.’
See also: beaten, off, track
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017

off the ˌbeaten ˈtrack

far away from where people normally live or go: Our house is a bit off the beaten track.
See also: beaten, off, track
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017

beaten track, (off) the

A well-worn path, (not) the usual route or method. The origin seems obvious, since a much-used route would indeed be flattened by the tramp of many feet. The phrase began to be used figuratively, in the sense of trite or unoriginal, in the seventeenth century or before, and off the beaten track, in the meaning of new or unusual, is just about as old. Samuel Johnson spelled it out in 1751 when he wrote, “The imitator treads a beaten walk.”
See also: beaten
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer
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References in periodicals archive
of Westminster) assemble seven chapters that consider the capacity of big cities to create new tourism areas that are "off the beaten track," specifically in Berlin, New York, London, Paris, and Sydney.
World tourism cities; developing tourism off the beaten track
The only use of a gentleman in traveling is to look after the luggage, and we take care to have no luggage," Organized into seven major themes (adventurers, companions, writers and artists, and so on) and punctuated by short biographies (the tale of Lady Isabel Burton's infamous trek to Mecca in 1869, disguised as a boy, is among the best), Off the Beaten Track is ideal for armchair time traveling.
Off the Beaten Track: Three Centuries of Women Travellers
Along with visiting a few of the city's famous old church buildings on this night, my husband seeks out places off the beaten track, whose steeples we have only seen while whizzing by on the expressway.
I could've prayed all night
But with the regional jets it has on order, Continental's sights are clearly set on business people traveling to Mexican towns off the beaten track. Indeed, some of the airports Garcia has visited don't have long-enough runways or space for an additional ticket counter.
Non-stop to Saltillo
To help him get excited about popping the question, we asked a few friends of the Monthly to describe some of the most promising possibilities who are just a bit off the beaten track. We like them ail--and, most important, we think that any one of them could make Al a very happy man.
ISO VP ASAP
For me, Stettheimer's marginality, together with her particular painterly awkwardness and her quirky "originality," provided the initial attraction; other artists somewhat off the beaten track, artists like Gustave Moreau, Pavel Tchelitchev, and Louis Eilshemius, supplied an ersatz genealogy for her - ancestors who, in the eyes of art history, might be called the magnificent failed ones.
Boho rococo
Land Rover Adventure Travel will offer the chance to explore some amazing landscapes and wildlife well off the beaten track.
Have an adventure with Land Rover
Christine Bleakley's latest show Off the Beaten Track has been axed by ITV bosses.
Christine TV career off track after axe
It is a road less travelled but this won't be the case in a couple of years if the government's tourism plans come to fruition." BBC.com travel editor Allison Busacca says that exploration off the beaten track has been become a trend due to increasing interest from a younger generation who don't see any barrier to travel, whether political, social or economic.
Increased interest in adventurous travel
Mark Wright is struggling to get to grips with roughing it on new outdoors show Wright Off The Beaten Track.
I couldn't Bear it
and Daybreak disaster Christine Bleakley launches her new ITV travelogue Off The Beaten Track. (Like her career) Ring any bells?
Beaten into obscurity..
The trike provides wheelchair users with far greater freedom and independence than ever before to travel off the beaten track," says Tim, whose Mountain Trike Company is based in Nantwich.
Tim's Trike takes on the Dragons; WHEEL CHANCE: The Dragons, above, and the trike, right
A little off the beaten track but well worth a visit as it really is a little gem.
my favourite place
There is a side to London which the average tourist tends to miss, because it's a bit off the beaten track. If you are in London this July and favour the quirky, here's a few things you might wish to fit into your itinerary.
Tucked away in London ..
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