parting of the ways

1. A point of divergence, especially an important one, as in When Jim decided to travel with the band and Jill wanted a more normal home life, they came to a parting of the ways. This term, which transfers a fork in a road to alternative courses of action, appears in the Bible (Ezekiel 21:21), where the king of Babylon must decide whether or not to attack Jerusalem: “[He] stood at the parting of the way.” [c. 1600]

Example Sentences

But there was a difference of opinion, the respective views of how Ashworth's job should work did not fit and a parting of the ways - with another compensation payment, in the region of £4m - was viewed as the inevitable outcome.

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After allowing 36 points and 431 yards per game to rank among the worst defenses in the country, the Bruins bid farewell to defensive coordinator Ikaika Malloe in what was termed a mutual parting of the ways.

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Coyle replaces Malloe, a universally beloved and respected assistant who left the team last week as part of what was described as a mutual parting of the ways after the team’s disappointing start.

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Even though a parting of the ways has been inevitable for some time, there is a sense of sadness that a club which prides itself on bringing players through its youth system should have found itself in a situation where it is compliant in the exit of the 15th highest all-time scorer - 138 - and 23rd highest appearance maker.

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Bieniemy’s agent, Jason Fletcher, labeled Bieniemy’s departure as a mutual parting of the ways in a statement, saying the former offensive coordinator with the Washington Commanders was still being paid by the NFL team and was assisting Foster for one season before making a planned return to the NFL in 2025.

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Related Words

• departure 
• disengagement 
• dissolution 
• divorce 
• estrangement 
• partition 
• segregation 
• split