Meaning & use
off the beaten path
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Meaning
phrasefixed phrase
not well-known or not often visited; away from the usual or popular route.
Grammar: Used after 'be' or 'go': The cafe is off the beaten path. It can also be used before a noun: an off-the-beaten-path destination.
Patterns
- be off the beaten path
- go off the beaten path
- an off-the-beaten-path place
We found a lovely little restaurant that is completely off the beaten path.
If you want to avoid tourists, go off the beaten path and explore the side streets.
The hotel is a bit off the beaten path, but that's what makes it so peaceful.
Common combinations
- a bit off the beaten path
- The beach is a bit off the beaten path, so it's never crowded.
- go off the beaten path
- On our trip, we decided to go off the beaten path.
- far off the beaten path
- The village is far off the beaten path and hard to reach.
- off the beaten track
- In British English, people often say 'off the beaten track'.
Synonyms and how they differ
- off the beaten track
- The common British variant; same meaning.
- remote
- Describes a place far from towns; 'off the beaten path' focuses on being away from popular routes.
- unspoiled
- Describes a place not changed by tourism; 'off the beaten path' just means not commonly visited.
Opposites
Commonly confused: off the beaten path or off the record?
off the beaten path vs off the record
Off the record means not to be reported publicly; off the beaten path means not on a usual route.
Practice
The guesthouse is ______ the beaten path, so few tourists know about it.
Choose one answer.
The idiom is 'off the beaten path', meaning away from the usual route. 'On' would suggest it is on the main route, which contradicts the sentence.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “off the beaten path”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.