crossways
part of speech
adverb (crossways); also crosswise
meaning for a pupil
1) Across from one side to the other, not along; at an angle, often a right angle, to something else. tree →
2) Placed so that one thing crosses over another, like an X. tree →
3) A crossways is a place where four or more roads meet, a crossroads. tree →
sense in the lessons
In everyday life you cut a sandwich crossways or lay sticks crossways to start a fire. In maths and art it is the same idea as «diagonally» or «across», depending on the shape. In cooking, «cut crossways» means across the short side. A phrase is «get crossways with someone» (US informal), meaning to fall out with them.
examples
- Cut the sandwich crossways into two triangles. tree →
- Lay the planks crossways over the stream. tree →
- The sticks were placed crossways to make a cross. tree →
- The carrot was sliced crossways into round coins. tree →
- The car stopped crossways across the road and blocked it. tree →
- Fold the paper crossways, from one corner to the other. tree →
- (US informal) He got crossways with his coach and was benched. tree →
- When they had got on some way they came to four crossways, each leading to a different country. tree →
note
«Crossways» and «crosswise» mean the same; «crosswise» is more common in the US. Not the same as «lengthways» (along the long side). In maths, cutting a rectangle crossways corner to corner gives two triangles; cutting it across the middle gives two smaller rectangles.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «crossways» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.