beaten track
Familiar, trodden way
A beaten track is a well-worn path created by frequent passage.
The phrase appears most often in off the beaten track, meaning away from commonly traveled routes or, figuratively, unconventional or unfamiliar: We found a restaurant off the beaten track.
The beaten track itself suggests the familiar, the routine, the well-established way of doing things.
- roadVehicle travel surface
- country roadRural thoroughfare between towns
- dirt roadUnpaved rural thoroughfare
- untroddenNever stepped upon
- well-wornDamaged by frequent use
trail · path · unconventionality · route · uncharted · frequented · secluded · originality · precedent · divergence · custom · hiking trail · conformity · nature trail · discovery · woodland path · hidden route · hidden gem
beaten trackuncharted territory
Unmapped, unexplored area
unexplored territory · road less traveled · virgin territory · terra incognita · unknown waters
beaten trackroad less traveled
Atypical route chosen deliberately
own path · alternative route · trailblazing · breaking new ground · nonconformity
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