English Phrase of the Day

Definitions

English > English
by the way		©
1. prep. (conjunctive, speech act, idiomatic) Incidentally; a parenthetical statement not timely, central, or crucial to the topic at hand; foregone, passed by, something that has already happened.
His mother will be coming for dinner tomorrow, and, by the way, she volunteered to bring dessert.
2. adv. Irrelevantly, off-topic.
Analysis
by		©
1. prep. Near or next to.
The mailbox is by the bus stop.
2. prep. At some time before (the given time), or before the end of a given time interval.
Be back by ten o'clock!  We will send it by the first week of July.
3. prep. Indicates the actor in a clause with its verb in the passive voice: Through the action or presence of.
the		©
1. art. Definite grammatical article that implies necessarily that an entity it articulates is presupposed; something already mentioned, or completely specified later in that same sentence, or assumed already
I’m reading the book. (Compare I’m reading a book.)
The street in front of your house. (Compare A street in Paris.)
The men and women watched the man give the birdseed to the bird.
2. art.          Used before a noun modified by a restrictive relative clause, indicating that the noun refers to a single referent defined by the relative clause.
way		©
1. n. To do with a place or places.:
2. n.          A road, a direction, a (physical or conceptual) path from one place to another.
Do you know the way to the airport?  Come this way and I'll show you a shortcut.  It's a long way from here.
3. n.          A means to enter or leave a place.
We got into the cinema through the back way.

Example Sentences

By the way, would you have the time?  By the way, what kind of separation do you have?  He seems to have had, to judge by the way you greeted the news.  By the way, whom are you insured with?  By the way, I love the work you've been doing on your mural the past few days.

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