Concrete

I don't think so ... "concrete" and "specific" are not synonyms, here.

Specific = a particular example out of a multiplicity of choices or options

Concrete = a tangible, physical or observable example.

Specific can be intangible, as in "a specific idea", while concrete is, well, "concrete" = one can touch & sense it. One would never (well, in norma

dumbswedeOne would never (well, in normal AmEng usage) say one had a "concrete idea", 

Are you sure? The phrase 'concrete idea' sounds familiar to me...

As an adjective, concrete can mean solid, robust, firm, well-conceived, or well-established.
It can be used to describe such abstract things as plans, goals, benefits, progress, details, solutions, ideas, and, in legal contexts: case, evidence, and proof.

But you don't think 'a concrete way' sounds natural, or do you, AS?

I'd say a "concrete idea" would be one that contains some detail. For example:

"We should improve it." => no concrete suggestion for improvement

"We could improve it by doing X." => concrete idea for improvement

Hi,

You might consider 'the practical way to do it'.

eg I don't know anything about Windows Vista, but Ive discovered that the practical way to fix my computer is to hit it right here with this hammer.

Best wishes, Clive

Thanks for the suggestions, everyone. But what I really want to know right now is whether 'a concrete way' itself sounds wrong or not. And if it sounds wrong, then why?

Hmmm ... when you put it that way, I tend to agree, sort of. Though I still don't like "concrete" applied to intangible objects, as a rule. I would expect, for example, that your 'concrete idea' makes sense if I then proceed to show you my idea on paper, or by some other tangible method, thus taking a mental intangible and making it tangible.

Perrhaps I'm being too picky?

Why do you want to use "concrete" instead of "specific"? Again, I have to refer to "selectivity" vs. "tangiblilty", to me "concrete" strongly implies some sort of physical or demonstrable presence, if only as a "concrete example" that you lay out on paper or on a screen.

Perhaps if you gave us the whole context?

COCA has almost 40 examples of "concrete way", and none refer to a paved road. So it is not very common, but neither is is unknown.

Here is one sample:

You can start speaking rationally to children about moral issues around ages five or six, as long as you put it in a simple, concrete way, " says Peskin.