least resistance, line of
Also, path of least resistance. The easiest method, way, or course of action. For example, He tends to do what most people seem to want, taking the line of least resistance. This term employs resistance in the sense of “the physical opposition of one thing or force to another,” a usage dating from the early 1600s. It has been used figuratively since about 1900.
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Nearby words
- least common denominator,
- least common multiple,
- least flycatcher,
- least killifish,
- least of all,
- least sandpiper,
- least shrew,
- least significant digit,
- least squares,
- least upper bound
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.