go out of one's way en · VERB
Pronunciation
- (Australia) audio
Meanings
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(idiomatic) To make an extra effort, so as to help or hinder.
As a political system democracy seems to me extraordinarily foolish, but I would not go out of my way to protest against it. My servant is, so far as I am concerned, welcome to as many votes as he can get. I would very gladly make mine over to him if I could.
1915, G[eorge] A. Birmingham [pseudonym; James Owen Hannay], chapter I, in Gossamer, New York, N.Y.: George H. Doran Company, →OCLC:Have you heard the word "gadgetbahn"? It's a portmanteau coined to describe transport proposals that, to all intents and purposes, ought to be delivered using proven railway technology... and yet go out of their way to be anything but a railway.
2020 November 18, Gareth Dennis, “Can Cambridgeshire plan transform transportation?”, in Rail, page 64:I wouldn't mind some help, but please don't go out of your way for me.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| went out of one's way | Tense=Past | lexicographic | |
| going out of one's way | Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic | |
| goes out of one's way | Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres | lexicographic | |
| gone out of one's way | Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic |
Relateds
bend over backwards · go the extra mile · go to great lengths · move heaven and earth