off-ramp
noun

- an exit strategy, often for the purpose of saving face

- a short road that is used to gradually slow down after leaving a highway

- a ramp by which one leaves a limited-access highway

- to be off-work, without employment

Britannnica Dictionary / Merriam-Webster

(Note: the British road-equivalent is "slip road")

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ORIGIN

“Ramp” from 1778 means “slope”, from French rampe, a back-formation from Old French verb ramper “to climb, scale, mount”.

“Off-ramp” meaning “a sloping one-way road leading off a main highway” is from 1954.

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ACCELERATE YOUR ENGLISH

Many English idioms are inspired by motoring - do you know these?

- amber gambler = a dangerous driver who accelerates to cross an intersection before a traffic light turns red (Be careful riding with Jim. He’s an amber gambler when running late.)

- old banger = a car which is old, in bad condition, and often unroadworthy (I drove a series of old bangers while I was a student.)

- chop shop = a place where stolen cars are disassembled for parts (My car was stolen earlier this week, it’s in a chop shop by now.)

- run out of steam = to lose momentum, become tired (Our marketing campaign is running out of steam, let’s consider using social media.)

- drive around the bend = to be made very angry by something (It drives Jim around the bend if people complain without first trying several solutions.)

- U-turn = a complete change of opinion or direction (The company owners will make a decision and then a few months later make a complete U-turn.)

- one for the road = to have one last (alcoholic) drink before you go home (I decided to have one for the road before heading home.)

- panda car = a British police car painted black-and-white or blue-and-white (Careful overtaking that lorry ahead, there’s a panda car in front of it.)

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À PROPROS, DRIVING… and EATING

D.N., a successful headhunter, interviews senior job-candidates from the passenger seat of his car. He believes that the way a manager negotiates road traffic also indicates how he’ll behave with subordinates and in the boardroom.

And, in the spirit of experimental thinking and reality-testing, Thomas Edison would reject any job applicant who salted his meal without trying it first.

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SMUGGLE OWAD into a conversation today, say something like:

“They can’t imagine him resigning his position without having a plausible OFF-RAMP.”

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THANKS to Lex for prompting today’s OWAD

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HERZLICHEN DANK to all readers helping me keep OWAD alive with single or monthly donations at:

https://donorbox.org/please-become-a-friend-of-owad-3

and,

Paul Smith, IBAN: DE75 7316 0000 0002 5477 40