Wayside means the side or edge of a road or path. In older times, travelers might rest by the wayside, sitting on the grass beside a dirt road to catch their breath or have lunch. You might see wildflowers growing along the wayside, or a stone marker placed there long ago.

The word appears most often in the phrase fall by the wayside, which means to be abandoned or forgotten during a journey or process. When a runner drops out of a race due to exhaustion, they've fallen by the wayside. When your New Year's resolution to practice piano every day only lasts until February, it has fallen by the wayside.

This phrase comes from an old parable about a farmer scattering seeds: some seeds fall by the wayside, where birds eat them before they can grow. Like those seeds that never took root, plans and projects that fall by the wayside never reach completion. A student might start the school year with enthusiasm for five different clubs, but by December, two have fallen by the wayside as homework gets harder and schedules get busier. The phrase captures how, along life's journey, some goals survive while others get left behind.