by the bye

Idioms  

1. Also, by the by. Incidentally, in passing, as in By the bye, my wife is coming too, or Exactly where do you live, by the by? The bye or second by in this term originally meant “a side path,” whence the current sense of “off the track” or “of secondary importance.” [Early 1500s] Also see by the way.

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Example Sentences

By the bye, you were talking a good deal to Clara Neville.

From Dorrien of Cranston by Mitford, Bertram

By the bye, when you send my books, send me also Mary Wollstonecraft’s Rights of Women, and Godwin’s new work on Man, and tell me what you are now writing.

From The Life and Letters of Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, Volume II (of 2) by Marshall, Florence A. Thomas

By the bye, talking of authorship, do get a sketch of Godwin’s plan from him.

From The Life and Letters of Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, Volume I (of 2) by Marshall, Florence A. Thomas

By the bye, why not consult Varley on the result?

From The Life and Letters of Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, Volume I (of 2) by Marshall, Florence A. Thomas

By the bye, how do you take the air?

From Charles Dickens' Children Stories by Dickens, Charles

Related Words

• casually
• remotely