Meaning
- to order someone to do something in a specific way without providing an alternative.
- believing that you are correct.
- to give an ultimatum.
- to tell someone to do something your way or that they should not do it.
- to convey an order or demand from one person to another.
- you are free to quit or choose not to participate if you choose not to follow my instructions or requirements.
Example in Sentences
- In my house, it is my way or the highway. He was told by his father after coming back home drunk.
- The management of fear policies was brought about by the board's attitude of my way or the highway.
- As long as I buy the food with my money, it is my way or the highway.
Her mother-in-law's attitude toward "my way or the highway" made it difficult for them to stay together. - We have to complete the project by the stipulated time. In order to accomplish that, it is going to be my way or the highway.
Origin
The idiom " my way or the highway " is believed to have originated in the United States between the 1960s and 1970s. It is believed that the idiom was invented when drifters and young people of the 1960s and 1970s were accustomed to hitchhiking and traversing the United States of America using the necessary means.
American football coaches such as Vince Lombardi and Bill Parcells are among the earliest known users of the idiom. Tampa Bay News is also believed to be among the first news outlets to use the idiom "my way or the highway." They used the idiom in August 1974. There are English-speaking nations that replace the term "highway" with "road."
