Fall by the wayside

Reader question:

Please explain “fall by the wayside” in this sentence: There are promises he’s kept, and there are ones that have fallen by the wayside.

My comments:

He, whoever that is, has kept some promises while failing to keep others.

In other words, some promises came true. Others, those “that have fallen by the wayside”, have failed to come to fruition.

For example, and let’s say “he” is a dad, so this dad promised to buy a box of pencils for his schoolboy, and he did. His boy, pencil box in hand, knows that Dad has kept that promise.

On the other hand, Dad also promised to buy the boy a bike as well as a basketball but he never bought them. So the boy knows Dad hasn’t been able to keep those promises. He has not done what he said he would do.

Let’s say Dad is a good dad who really wants to keep those promises but haven’t been able to. He’s fresh out of a job, say. When he has the money, he will buy the boy those items to make him happy.

Anyways, for now, those promises – along with the bike and basketball – are considered to “have fallen by the wayside”. They’ve been abandoned, neglected and left in limbo – with an uncertain future.

The expression itself, “fall by the wayside” came straight from the Bible, appearing in three different places actually.

Here’s an explanation from CrossIdiomas:

Etymology: From the Parable of the Sower told by Jesus and recorded in the New Testament of the Bible, the term appearing in Matthew 13:4, Mark 4:4, and Luke 8:5. The parable is the story of a farmer who sows seed, and “some fell by the wayside, and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it” (Luke 8:5). Jesus then explains: “The seed is the word of God. Those by the wayside, are they that hear: then cometh the Devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe, and be saved.” (Luke 8:11–12, King James Version, spelling modernized.)

Here’s another explanation from PhrasesHub:

The origin of this idiom can be traced back to the Bible, specifically in the book of Luke, where it is written: “And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection.” This biblical reference describes the idea of something or someone falling by the wayside, or being hindered and ultimately failing to reach its full potential.

Over time, the idiom evolved to be used in a more general sense, referring to any form of failure or neglect. It became a popular phrase in the late 19th and early 20th century and has since remained a common expression in the English language.

In conclusion, the idiom “fall by the wayside” carries a negative connotation and is often used to describe various forms of failure, neglect, or decline.

All right?

All right, let’s read a few media examples of things that, somehow, have fallen by the wayside:

1. We’ve almost reached the halfway mark of the first season of TV's newest techno-enhanced talent show, ABC’s Rising Star, where an app and an audience are all that stands in a hopeful singer’s way. While the whole concept of an audience deciding your fate on live television thing has a certain intimidating feel that might make contestants feel like they’re in The Hunger Games, the best part of the show isn’t even its most innovative feature. The on-camera personalities are what make the show inherently watchable, and that’s not even including the insanely dreamy host Josh Groban. I’m talking about the totally weird, but totally entertaining, mixed bag of judges that includes Brad Paisley, Ludacris, and Kesha. While Ludacris and Paisley have their charms, sure, the real star is human glitter bomb Kesha.

The singer, whose twitter bio simply states “i’m a rainbow,” is admittedly a pretty colorful addition to the show, but what does she do with her time when not running her own cat cult or having the supernatural all up in her lady business? Unlike some of her contemporaries, Kesha hasn’t been too big on the perpetual dating scandals, save for a silly kiss controversy with Adam Lambert in 2010 and her longstanding rumored relationship with T-Pain, which eventually just fell by the wayside. By late last year, Kesha was broadcasting some negative thoughts about her love life.

While she hasn’t been entirely open with the public in the past, the songstress has a new love and isn’t shy about it this time around. Kesha is now seeing Brad Ashenfelter, who she met through her stylist, as reported by Us Weekly. She’s quoted as saying that she “likes dirty guys” and from the looks of it, Ashenfelter has got the grody bearded hipster look down pat.

So what’s so special about her new beau? For one, he was by the star’s side during her time in rehab for an eating disorder, which puts him in automatic swoon-worthy territory. Ashenfelter definitely doesn’t have as big of a web presence as his girlfriend, but he did take to twitter to offer his support on her post-rehab journey.

- Kesha’s Boyfriend Is Definitely a Keeper, Bustle.com, July 20, 2014.

2. Liverpool can wrap up a record-equalling 20th English title on Sunday when Leicester City and Ipswich Town are both likely to have their relegation from the Premier League confirmed.

After several nail-biting Premier League title races that went down to the wire, Arne Slot’s Liverpool have turned this one into a procession as rivals fell by the wayside.

Despite trailing champions Manchester City and Arsenal early in the campaign, Liverpool have been top for all but one week since Sept. 28 and three points at 19th-placed Leicester could see them join Manchester United as England’s most-crowned club.

For that to happen, second-placed Arsenal would also have to lose away to third-from-bottom Ipswich.

But whatever the outcome of this weekend’s games, Slot looks certain to become only the fifth manager to win the Premier League in his debut season in English football – the others being Jose Mourinho (Chelsea), Carlo Ancelotti (Chelsea), Manuel Pellegrini (Manchester City) and Antonio Conte (Chelsea).

While Liverpool’s second Premier League title in six seasons has looked inevitable, so has Leicester’s return to the Championship after a woeful campaign.

- Liverpool on brink of title, Leicester, Ipswich prepare for drop, Cyprus-Mail.com, April 19, 2025.

3. If one thing is absolutely certain, it’s that Freddie Mercury was an ideas man. Put together a seven-minute rock opera, the kind of which was completely unprecedented in music before? Sure, go for it. Make a career comeback at Wembley Stadium and turn it into one of the most iconic live sets of all time? Why wouldn’t you? He was the king of Queen, after all.

While this undoubtedly cemented Mercury as the definitive rock star, there was a lot to be said for actually putting these visions into practice. As a bandmate watching on while your frontman expelled creative mirages almost like air, there understandably had to be a stopping point, where the other three members had the right to veto some of the more exorbitant ideas coming out of his mouth. The trouble is, with hindsight, it’s hard to know whether some of the notions that fell by the wayside were missed opportunities to strike gold.

But like any good right-hand man, Brian May knew pretty well when to indulge in his flamboyant friend’s grand plans and when he thought they were better left to the creative graveyard, as he said himself: “Freddie’s ideas were off the wall and cheeky and different – and we tended to encourage them. Sometimes the idea he brought in was brilliant, and sometimes not brilliant.”

One of the latter, less earth-shattering examples came at the very end of the 1980s, four years on from when the band had made their triumphant comeback at Live Aid, and to the outside world, they were back on top. Of course, behind closed doors told a different story – Mercury’s health was declining and he was entering into the crux of his final years – but in his true style, he was still as ebullient, effervescent, and energetic as ever.

That truly manifested itself during the production process for The Miracle, which eventually bore the home of hits such as ‘I Want It All’ and ‘Scandal’. But originally, Mercury had come up with a very different conception for the album of pop-rock anthems, heavily influenced by the musical landscape around him. May recalled in an interview with Mojo: “He came in one day and announced, ‘I’ve got this amazing idea. You know Michael Jackson has just put out this album called Bad? Well, listen… What do you think about us calling our next album Good?’”

Well, it was certainly something to consider, but, guessing by the rest of the band’s response, it basically went down like a lead balloon. May continued: “We all looked at each other and said, ‘Well, maybe we should think about it, Freddie’. It wasn’t one of his world-shattering ideas, but looking back, maybe we were wrong…” That’s the thing – among corridors of wall-to-wall hits, it was perhaps easy to naysay ideas once Queen felt they had enough skin in the game. But looking back on the legacy of Mercury’s visionary genius, would it have been better to just go along with him after all?

It’s something that May and the rest of the band likely continue to wrestle with to this day, but in many ways, what allowed them to keep their creative dynamic alive was being able to put their foot down from time to time. Indeed, an album dichotomy between Queen and the King of Pop may have been interesting, but maybe the pomp and flair of music’s regal court would have proved too much to bear.

- Freddie Mercury’s failed attempt to take on Michael Jackson: “Maybe we were wrong”, FarOutMagazine.com, July 11, 2025.

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About the author:

Zhang Xin is Trainer at chinadaily.com.cn. He has been with China Daily since 1988, when he graduated from Beijing Foreign Studies University. Write him at: zhangxin@chinadaily.com.cn, or raise a question for potential use in a future column.

（作者：张欣）