fall by the wayside

Meaning

To fail to be completed, particularly for lack of interest; to be left out, to suffer from neglect.

Synonyms

chuck up the sponge

drop out

give up

quit

throw in

throw in the towel

drop by the wayside

Hyphenated as

fall

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈfɔːl baɪ ðə ˈweɪsaɪd/

Etymology

From the Parable of the Sower told by Jesus and recorded in the New Testament of the Bible, the term appearing in Matthew 13:4, Mark 4:4, and Luke 8:5. The parable is the story of a farmer who sows seed, and “some fell by the wayside, and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it” (Luke 8:5). Jesus then explains: “The seed is the word of God. Those by the wayside, are they that hear: then cometh the Devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe, and be saved.” (Luke 8:11–12, King James Version, spelling modernized.)
The English term is derived from Ancient Greek ἔπεσεν παρὰ τὴν ὁδόν (épesen parà tḕn hodón, literally “fell beside the path”).