Edgeways (or edgewise) means sideways, with the edge forward instead of the flat side. If you need to move a wide bookshelf through a narrow doorway, you might have to turn it edgeways so the thin edge goes first.

The word appears most often in the expression “can't get a word in edgeways” (or “can't get a word in edgewise”). This means you can't participate in a conversation because someone else is talking so much they don't leave any space for others. Imagine trying to squeeze through that narrow doorway, but there's no gap: that's what it feels like when someone talks constantly without pausing. You might say, “My sister was so excited about her field trip that I couldn't get a word in edgeways during dinner.”

The phrase captures that feeling of being squeezed out of a conversation, trying to slip your words into tiny spaces that never quite open up. It's not about people being mean; they're often just enthusiastic or nervous, but the effect is the same: you're left standing there with things to say and no room to say them.