What is "by the way"

Way \Way\, n. [OE. wey, way, AS. weg; akin to OS., D., OHG., & G. weg, Icel. vegr, Sw. v["a]g, Dan. vei, Goth. wigs, L. via, and AS. wegan to move, L. vehere to carry, Skr. vah. [root]136. Cf. Convex, Inveigh, Vehicle, Vex, Via, Voyage, Wag, Wagon, Wee, Weigh.]

1. That by, upon, or along, which one passes or processes; opportunity or room to pass; place of passing; passage; road, street, track, or path of any kind; as, they built a way to the mine. ``To find the way to heaven.''
   --Shak.

   I shall him seek by way and eke by street.
   --Chaucer.

   The way seems difficult, and steep to scale.
   --Milton.

   The season and ways were very improper for his majesty's forces to march so great a distance.
   --Evelyn.

2. Length of space; distance; interval; as, a great way; a long way.

   And whenever the way seemed long, Or his heart began to fail.
   --Longfellow.

3. A moving; passage; procession; journey.

   I prythee, now, lead the way.
   --Shak.

4. Course or direction of motion or process; tendency of action; advance.

   If that way be your walk, you have not far.
   --Milton.

   And let eternal justice take the way.
   --Dryden.

5. The means by which anything is reached, or anything is accomplished; scheme; device; plan.

   My best way is to creep under his gaberdine.
   --Shak.

   By noble ways we conquest will prepare.
   --Dryden.

   What impious ways my wishes took!
   --Prior.

6. Manner; method; mode; fashion; style; as, the way of expressing one's ideas.

7. Regular course; habitual method of life or action; plan of conduct; mode of dealing. ``Having lost the way of nobleness.''
   --Sir. P. Sidney.

   Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.
   --Prov. iii. 17.

   When men lived in a grander way.
   --Longfellow.

8. Sphere or scope of observation.
   --Jer. Taylor.

   The public ministers that fell in my way.
   --Sir W. Temple.

9. Determined course; resolved mode of action or conduct; as, to have one's way.

10. (Naut.)

    1. Progress; as, a ship has way.

    2. pl. The timbers on which a ship is launched.

11. pl. (Mach.) The longitudinal guides, or guiding surfaces, on the bed of a planer, lathe, or the like, along which a table or carriage moves.

12. (Law) Right of way. See below. By the way, in passing; apropos; aside; apart from, though connected with, the main object or subject of discourse. By way of, for the purpose of; as being; in character of. Covert way. (Fort.) See Covered way, under Covered. In the family way. See under Family. In the way, so as to meet, fall in with, obstruct, hinder, etc. In the way with, traveling or going with; meeting or being with; in the presence of. Milky way. (Astron.) See Galaxy, 1. No way, No ways. See Noway, Noways, in the Vocabulary. On the way, traveling or going; hence, in process; advancing toward completion; as, on the way to this country; on the way to success. Out of the way. See under Out. Right of way (Law), a right of private passage over another's ground. It may arise either by grant or prescription. It may be attached to a house, entry, gate, well, or city lot, as well as to a country farm. --Kent. To be under way, or To have way (Naut.), to be in motion, as when a ship begins to move. To give way. See under Give. To go one's way, or To come one's way, to go or come; to depart or come along. --Shak. To go one's way to proceed in a manner favorable to one; -- of events. To come one's way to come into one's possession (of objects) or to become available, as an opportunity; as, good things will come your way. To go the way of all the earth or to go the way of all flesh to die. To make one's way, to advance in life by one's personal efforts. To make way. See under Make, v. t. Ways and means.

    1. Methods; resources; facilities.

    2. (Legislation) Means for raising money; resources for revenue.

       Way leave, permission to cross, or a right of way across, land; also, rent paid for such right. [Eng]

       Way of the cross (Eccl.), the course taken in visiting in rotation the stations of the cross. See Station, n., 7

    3. .

       Way of the rounds (Fort.), a space left for the passage of the rounds between a rampart and the wall of a fortified town.

       Way pane, a pane for cartage in irrigated land. See Pane, n., 4. [Prov. Eng.]

       Way passenger, a passenger taken up, or set down, at some intermediate place between the principal stations on a line of travel.

       Ways of God, his providential government, or his works.

       Way station, an intermediate station between principal stations on a line of travel, especially on a railroad.

       Way train, a train which stops at the intermediate, or way, stations; an accommodation train.

       Way warden, the surveyor of a road.

       Syn: Street; highway; road.

       Usage: Way, Street, Highway, Road. Way is generic, denoting any line for passage or conveyance; a highway is literally one raised for the sake of dryness and convenience in traveling; a road is, strictly, a way for horses and carriages; a street is, etymologically, a paved way, as early made in towns and cities; and, hence, the word is distinctively applied to roads or highways in compact settlements.

       All keep the broad highway, and take delight With many rather for to go astray.
       --Spenser.

       There is but one road by which to climb up.
       --Addison.

       When night Darkens the streets, then wander forth the sons Of Belial, flown with insolence and wine.
       --Milton.

By \By\ (b[imac]), prep. [OE. bi, AS. b[=i], big, near to, by, of, from, after, according to; akin to OS. & OFries. bi, be, D. bij, OHG. b[=i], G. bei, Goth. bi, and perh. Gr. 'amfi`. E. prefix be- is orig. the same word. [root]203. See pref. Be-.]

1. In the neighborhood of; near or next to; not far from; close to; along with; as, come and sit by me.

   By foundation or by shady rivulet He sought them both.
   --Milton.

2. On; along; in traversing. Compare 5.

   Long labors both by sea and land he bore.
   --Dryden.

   By land, by water, they renew the charge.
   --Pope.

3. Near to, while passing; hence, from one to the other side of; past; as, to go by a church.

4. Used in specifying adjacent dimensions; as, a cabin twenty feet by forty.

5. Against. [Obs.]
   --Tyndale [1. Cor. iv. 4].

6. With, as means, way, process, etc.; through means of; with aid of; through; through the act or agency of; as, a city is destroyed by fire; profit is made by commerce; to take by force. Note: To the meaning of by, as denoting means or agency, belong, more or less closely, most of the following uses of the word:

   1. It points out the author and producer; as, ``Waverley'', a novel by Sir W.Scott; a statue by Canova; a sonata by Beethoven.

   2. In an oath or adjuration, it indicates the being or thing appealed to as sanction; as, I affirm to you by all that is sacred; he swears by his faith as a Christian; no, by Heaven.

   3. According to; by direction, authority, or example of; after; -- in such phrases as, it appears by his account; ten o'clock by my watch; to live by rule; a model to build by.

   4. At the rate of; according to the ratio or proportion of; in the measure or quantity of; as, to sell cloth by the yard, milk by the quart, eggs by the dozen, meat by the pound; to board by the year.

   5. In comparison, it denotes the measure of excess or deficiency; when anything is increased or diminished, it indicates the measure of increase or diminution; as, larger by a half; older by five years; to lessen by a third.

   6. It expresses continuance or duration; during the course of; within the period of; as, by day, by night.

   7. As soon as; not later than; near or at; -- used in expressions of time; as, by this time the sun had risen; he will be here by two o'clock. Note: In boxing the compass, by indicates a pint nearer to, or towards, the next cardinal point; as, north by east, i.e., a point towards the east from the north; northeast by east, i.e., on point nearer the east than northeast is. Note: With is used instead of by before the instrument with which anything is done; as, to beat one with a stick; the board was fastened by the carpenter with nails. But there are many words which may be regarded as means or processes, or, figuratively, as instruments; and whether with or by shall be used with them is a matter of arbitrary, and often, of unsettled usage; as, to a reduce a town by famine; to consume stubble with fire; he gained his purpose by flattery; he entertained them with a story; he distressed us with or by a recital of his sufferings. see With. By all means, most assuredly; without fail; certainly. By and by.

      1. Close together (of place). [Obs.] ``Two yonge knightes liggyng [lying] by and by.''
         --Chaucer.

      2. Immediately; at once. [Obs.] ``When . . . persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.''
         --Matt. xiii. 21.

      3. Presently; pretty soon; before long.

         Note: In this phrase, by seems to be used in the sense of nearness in time, and to be repeated for the sake of emphasis, and thus to be equivalent to ``soon, and soon,'' that is instantly; hence, -- less emphatically, -- pretty soon, presently.

         By one's self, with only one's self near; alone; solitary.

         By the bye. See under Bye.

         By the head (Naut.), having the bows lower than the stern; -- said of a vessel when her head is lower in the water than her stern. If her stern is lower, she is by the stern.

         By the lee, the situation of a vessel, going free, when she has fallen off so much as to bring the wind round her stern, and to take her sails aback on the other side.

         By the run, to let go by the run, to let go altogether, instead of slacking off.

         By the way, by the bye; -- used to introduce an incidental or secondary remark or subject.

         Day by day, One by one, Piece by piece, etc., each day, each one, each piece, etc., by itself singly or separately; each severally.

         To come by, to get possession of; to obtain.

         To do by, to treat, to behave toward.

         To set by, to value, to esteem.

         To stand by, to aid, to support.

         Note: The common phrase good-by is equivalent to farewell, and would be better written good-bye, as it is a corruption of God be with you (b'w'ye).

adv. (context UK idiomatic English) irrelevantly, off-topic. alt. (context conjunctive speech act idiomatic English) incidentally; a parenthetical statement not timely, central, or crucial to the topic at hand; foregone, passed by, something that has already happened. prep.phr. (context conjunctive speech act idiomatic English) incidentally; a parenthetical statement not timely, central, or crucial to the topic at hand; foregone, passed by, something that has already happened.

adv. introducing a different topic; "by the way, I won't go to the party" [syn: by the bye, incidentally]

"By the Way" is the sixth single from Theory of a Deadman's album Scars & Souvenirs, released on May 18, 2009. The song features Chris Daughtry and Robin Diaz on back-up vocals. It about a girl leaving her boyfriend without saying anything to him and he now thinks about her all the time and wishes she'd come back. The Scars & Souvenirs album title comes from a line in this song: "Piled up from the years, all those scars and souvenirs".

By the Way is the eighth studio album by American rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers. The album was released on July 9, 2002 on Warner Bros. Records. It sold over 286,000 copies in the first week, and peaked at number two on the Billboard 200. (Their next album would peak at number one) The singles from the album included " By the Way", " The Zephyr Song", " Can't Stop", " Dosed" and " Universally Speaking". The lyrical subject matter vocalist Anthony Kiedis addresses in By the Way is a divergence from previous Chili Peppers albums, with Kiedis taking a more candid and reflective approach to his lyrics.

By the Way was lauded by critics as a departure from the band's previous styles, and is recognized for the melodic and subdued emotions given by the Chili Peppers. Guitarist John Frusciante is credited with writing most of the album's melodies, bass lines, and guitar progressions, therefore changing the direction of the recording dramatically: "his warm, understated guitar work and his doo-wop style vocal harmonies are king this time around." By the Way contained very little of the signature punk-funk fusion the band had become known for playing. Frusciante has stated that writing "By the Way [was] one of the happiest times in my life." The album went on to sell over 8 million copies worldwide.

"By the Way" is a song by American funk rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers. It is the title track and the first single released from the band's eighth studio album of the same name. The song was the band's sixth #1 hit on the Modern Rock Tracks chart, staying at the summit for 14 weeks, tying it with " Dani California" as the band's second longest stay at the top, behind only " Scar Tissue", which was at the top for 16 weeks. It also spent 7 weeks at #1 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, their fourth song to top this chart.

Regarding its release, guitarist John Frusciante noted: "It wasn't really our decision to put that song out first, but our managers thought it was an exciting song and their enthusiasm convinced us. I guess they thought that it combined the wild part of our sound with the melodic part of our sound." Vocalist Anthony Kiedis elaborated: "I thought that single was an über-bombastic assault of non-commercialism. For it to be so well received [in the United Kingdom] was shocking to me, but thrilling at the same time."

"By the Way" has been performed at almost every show since its first performance in 2002, making it one of the band's most performed songs ever with well over 350 performances and counting.