subway
subway
Pronunciation
sub- (/sʌb/):
/s/: voiceless alveolar fricative (like the 's' in "sip")
/ʌ/: near-open central unrounded vowel (like the 'u' in "cut")
/b/: voiced bilabial stop (like the 'b' in "bat")
-way (/weɪ/):
/w/: voiced labial-velar approximant (like the 'w' in "we")
/eɪ/: diphthong, transitioning from a mid-front unrounded vowel to a high-front unrounded vowel (like the 'ay' in "say")
Word Form Variations
Singular: subway
Plural: subways
Definitions, Synonyms and Antonyms
Noun
1. A system of underground electric railways, typically found in large cities, used for public transportation.
Synonyms: metro, underground, tube (UK), elevated train (less common, but can refer to a similar system that runs above ground)
Antonyms: (No direct antonyms for a transportation system, but concepts like "surface street" or "above-ground transit" could be considered contrasting.)
2. An underground passage or tunnel, often for pedestrians to cross a road safely, or for utilities.
Synonyms: underpass, tunnel, pedestrian tunnel, concourse
Antonyms: overpass, bridge, surface crossing
Examples of Use
Books: "He pushed through the turnstiles, the rumble of an approaching subway train growing louder in the tunnel." (From The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger)
Newspapers: "New York City's subway system experienced significant delays this morning due to signal issues." (The New York Times)
Online Publications: "How the Tokyo Subway System Became One of the World's Most Efficient" (NPR.org)
Film: In the movie Spider-Man 2, there's a memorable action sequence where Spider-Man fights Doctor Octopus on a subway train.
Music: The song "Take the A Train" by Duke Ellington is a jazz standard that references a specific subway line in New York City.
Video Games: The game Grand Theft Auto IV features a detailed recreation of a subway system that players can use to travel across the fictional Liberty City.
Television: "The latest episode of Brooklyn Nine-Nine featured the precinct investigating a strange incident that occurred on a crowded subway car."
General Public Discourse:
"I'm going to take the subway to work today to avoid traffic." (Everyday conversation)
"The city council is debating plans to expand the subway line to the outer boroughs." (Local government discussion)
"Watch out for pickpockets on the subway during rush hour." (Travel advice)
10 Quotes Using Subway
"Wall Street is the only place that people ride to in a Rolls Royce to get advice from those who take the subway." - Warren Buffett
"The words of the prophets are written on the subway walls and tenement halls and whispered in the sounds of silence." - Paul Simon (from the song "The Sound of Silence")
"I only come up with things when I am talking to myself, which I do constantly. The sidewalk and the subway are the best places for this." - Kate McKinnon
"I like to watch people. Sometimes I ride the subway all day and look at them and listen to them." - Ray Bradbury (from Fahrenheit 451)
"People who want to understand democracy should spend less time in the library with Aristotle and more time on the buses and in the subway." - Simeon Strunsky
"New York has a thousand universes in it that don't always connect but we do all walk the same streets, hear the same sirens, ride the same subways, see the same headlines in the Post, read the same writings on the walls." - Jay-Z (from Decoded)
"Don't sleep in the subway, darling, don't stand in the rain." - Petula Clark (from the song "Don't Sleep in the Subway")
"Jazz, to me, is one of the inherent expressions of Negro life in America: the eternal tom-tom beating in the Negro soul - the tom-tom of revolt against weariness in a white world, a world of subway trains, and work, work, work; the tom-tom of joy and laughter, and pain swallowed in a smile." - Langston Hughes
"I would solve a lot of literary problems just thinking about a character in the subway, where you can't do anything anyway." - Toni Morrison
"In New York, you've got Donald Trump, Woody Allen, a crack addict and a regular Joe, and they're all on the same subway car." - Ethan Hawke
Etymology
The word "subway" is pretty straightforward in how it was put together! It's simply a combination of two older English words:
"sub-": This is a prefix that comes from Latin and generally means "under," "below," or "beneath." You see it in other words like "submarine" (underwater) or "submerge" (to go under water).
"way": This refers to a path, road, or passage.
So, literally, "subway" means "under way" or "underground passage."
The first known use of "subway" dates back to the 1820s, with the Oxford English Dictionary finding evidence from 1822. Back then, its meaning was very general: it referred to any kind of "underground passage." This could be a tunnel for water pipes, a walkway for people, or later, even for electrical wires.
It wasn't until later, specifically by 1892, that the word "subway" started to be used to describe the "underground railway in a city," particularly in reference to London's developing system. So, while the components of the word were old, the specific meaning of an underground train system came about as those systems were being built and became common.
Phrases + Idioms Containing Subway
Here's a list of phrases and idioms using "subway" or its synonyms for similar effect:
Subway Series: (An idiom specific to baseball, referring to a World Series played between two New York City teams whose stadiums are accessible by subway.)
Subway therapy: (A humorous, informal term for people-watching or thinking while riding the subway, often used as a way to de-stress or get ideas.)
The subway grind: (Refers to the daily routine and often monotonous experience of commuting on a subway.)
On the subway line: (Meaning located along a subway route, making it easily accessible.)
Subway surfing: (A dangerous activity where individuals ride on the outside of a subway train.)
He's a regular on the tube/metro: (Using synonyms, implying someone frequently uses the underground train system.)
Going down into the metro: (Describes entering the subway system.)
Riding the underground: (Similar to riding the subway, common in British English.)
Vocabulary-Based Stories from SEA
Source Information
Definition of subway from The Academic Glossary at Self Exploration Academy, a Urikville Press Publication. © All rights reserved.
