parting of the ways

Idioms  

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]

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Example Sentences

When we came to the parting of the ways, we all stood and watched Mutti and Marlene walking away through the trees in the direction of the zoo, before running off down the hill to the school.

From Literature

It marked a parting of the ways.

From BBC

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.

From BBC

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.

From Los Angeles Times

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.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

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