my way or the highway

English

Pronunciation

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

Noun

my way or the highway

1. (chiefly US, idiomatic) An expression suggesting an ultimatum which indicates the listener(s) will either conform to the desires or teachings of the speaker or else be excluded.

   Synonym: (vulgar) fit in or fuck off

   • 1995 June 2, “Gingrich . . . My Way or the Highway”, in Time‎^[1], archived from the original on 2010-10-07:

     Gingrich . . . My Way or the Highway [title]

   • 2004 May 1, Chuck Knowlton, “Letters”, in Time‎^[2], archived from the original on 2013-06-30:

     His my-way-or-the-highway attitude doesn't fit U.S. foreign-policy concerns or domestic issues.

Usage notes

• Sometimes seen with other pronouns, e.g. her way or the highway.

Translations

suggesting an ultimatum

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 要麼聽我的，要麼拉倒 / 要么听我的，要么拉倒 (yàome tīng wǒ de, yàome lā dǎo, literally “either listen to me, or forget it”)

• Hungarian: ha nem tetszik, fel is út, le is út, megszoksz vagy megszöksz (hu), eszi, nem eszi, nem kap mást
• Turkish: dediğim dedik, çaldığım düdük (literally “what I said is what I said, what I blow is a whistle”)
• Portuguese: meu jogo, minhas regras (literally “my game, my rules”)