Out of the way

Question

Hello,What is the meaning of  'out of the way' in these sentences? Does it simply mean a completed tast?With breakfast out of the way the kids  went to school.With the movie out of the way he went to bed.Thanks

Parsa maozzez · Accepted Answer

1. out of the ordinary
2. improper or even offensive
3. remote from populous or much-traveled regions

JohnParis · Answer

Here, the idiomatic expression "out of the way" means "finished", "completed", or "dispensed with."

Anushkap1 · Answer

HI
OUT OF THE WAY MEANS DISTANT OR FAR AWAY.
1)WITH BREAKFAST OUT OF THE WAY THE KIDS WENT TO SCHOOL.
2)WITH THE MOVIE OUT OF THE WAY HE WENT TO BED.----------
IN BOTH THE SENTENCES THE THING DID NOT HAPPEN---------------IN 1ST IT MEANS KIDS DIDN'T GET BREAKFAST....
2ND IT MEANS HE COULDN'T WATCH THE MOVIE.
HOPE IT HELPS:)
THANKS TO NAMRATA MADAM'S CLASSES

JohnParis · Answer

Hello Anushkap1,
Welcome to EnglishForward.com ! It's always great to have new members, comments, and opinions.

I believe that you do not understand the expression "out of the way" as it is used by native speakers of English.
I re-submit that "out of the way", as it is used in the two example sentences, means "finished", "dispensed with", "completed", or "over."
If you reconstruct the sentences using your proposed meanings (distant or far away) they make no sense.
With breakfast distant, the kids went to school. This makes no sense.
With breakfast far away, the students went to school. This makes even less sense.
However, if you say "With breakfast finished, the children went to school", this makes sense because once the children have finished eating their breakfast they depart for school.

For non-native speakers of English, idiomatic expressions are extremely difficult to learn and use. In the process of learning English, mastering idioms, modals and slang is the last step in becoming truly fluent. I am a native speaker of English, but I also speak French (I have for over 30 years). Yet, I still have difficulty in correctly using French idioms and slang.
I'm fairly certain that it is the same with your native language.

Out of the way

Top answer

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

Related Questions