beaten track, (off) the

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

the beaten track

1. A course or route frequently or heavily traveled. 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. I know people say to be adventurous when traveling, but I like to stay along the beaten track in places I don't know very well.

2. A trend, development, method, etc., that is typical or unoriginal. I generally keep to the beaten track when it comes to books. I'm not fond of reading anything experimental or overly academic. None of us were surprised when James decided to study yoga in India instead of going to college. He has always gone off the beaten track in life.

*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

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

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

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.”