sidetracked

[ sahyd-trakt ]

adjective

distracted from the main subject, task, course, etc.: Sorry for not replying sooner—I’m an easily sidetracked guy with poor time management.
(of a train) moved from the main track to a siding, where it stops temporarily: Rail officials agreed to move a sidetracked train after local residents complained of the noise, fumes, and vibrations.

verb

Origin of sidetracked

First recorded in 1880–85; sidetrack + -ed² for the adjective senses; sidetrack + -ed¹ for the verb sense

How do we move this along quickly before they get sidetracked with other projects?
Inside Sony’s ‘Pineapple Express 2 Drama’: Leaked Emails Reveal Fight Over Stoner Comedy Sequel | William Boot | December 21, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
But the fact that they have had to divert funds and resources for Ebola means their original objectives have been sidetracked.
What’s Worse Than Ebola in West Africa? Almost Everything | Barbie Latza Nadeau | October 23, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
It even included a sly nod to being “sidetracked in Juárez.”
Excerpts From a New Johnny Cash Biography Capture His Iconoclastic Genius | Robert Hilburn | October 26, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
Got sidetracked watching a documentary about Egyptian afterlife rituals and beliefs.
The Land of the Dead | Megan McArdle | September 28, 2012 | THE DAILY BEAST
“We get sidetracked by efforts to focus on getting every woman a mammogram,” she recently told The Daily Beast.
The Media’s Pink-Ribbon Problem: Coverage Is Skewed, Study Says | Abigail Pesta | August 13, 2012 | THE DAILY BEAST

She ran out and caught a neighbors boy, and sent him scurrying down to the sidetracked sleeping car with a note to Helen.
Ruth Fielding At Sunrise Farm | Alice B. Emerson
Not to be sidetracked, she then asked the woman's rights convention to broaden its platform to include rights for the Negro.
Susan B. Anthony | Alma Lutz
Granville Stuart, meanwhile, having successfully sidetracked the three musketeers, proceeded silently to gather his clansmen.
Roosevelt in the Bad Lands | H. Hagedorn.
There's been a big change in you since you sidetracked Will Douglas, Esmé.
The Clarion | Samuel Hopkins Adams
Of course the Jubilee issue was a special affair, and for a time sidetracked other considerations.
Canada: Its Postage Stamps and Postal Stationery | Clifton Armstrong Howes

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