boardwalk

plural boardwalks

1. A slightly elevated path (walkway) for pedestrians over sandy or swampy ground, typically made out of wood; specifically (Canada, US) one running alongside a body of water or beach.

   From the height of the boardwalk the sea lay before them, silver and stony, fold on fold of it, stretching east into the mist and clouds.

   1963 winter, Josephine W[inslow] Johnson, “Coney Island in November”, in The Virginia Quarterly Review, volume 39, number 1, Charlottesville, Va.: University of Virginia, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 453

   5 more examples

   A man, whom we had noticed walking rather uncertainly, as if not sure whether he was going up or down hill, at this crisis came to a pause, staggered off the boardwalk, and leaned against the fence.

   1865 June, “Godey’s Arm-chair”, in [Louis Antoine Godey and Sarah Josepha Hale], editors, Godey’s Lady’s Book and Magazine, volume LXX, Philadelphia, Pa.: L[ouis] A[ntoine] Godey, →OCLC, page 557, column 2

   [A]bout the beginning of the war the greatest concern of [Ulysses Simpson] Grant was to get a good boardwalk laid from his house to the store. […] It is related, that after one of his great victories, some gentlemen of Galena had the walk laid, and telegraphed the General: "Rest easy, the walk is down."

   1868, James S[anks] Brisbin, chapter III, in The Campaign Lives of Ulysses S. Grant and Schuyler Colfax, Cincinnati, Oh.: C. F. Vent & Co., publishers; […], →OCLC, page 57

   Oh when the sun beats down and burns the tar up on the roof / And your shoes get so hot you wish your tired feet were fire proof / Under the boardwalk, down by the sea, yeah / On a blanket with my baby is where I'll be

   1964 June, Kenny Young, Arthur Resnick, “Under the Boardwalk”, performed by The Drifters

   New Jersey was reeling on Wednesday from the impact of Hurricane Sandy, which has caused catastrophic flooding here in Hoboken and in other New York City suburbs, destroyed entire neighborhoods across the state and wiped out iconic boardwalks in shore towns that had enchanted generations of vacationgoers.

   2012 October 31, David M. Halbfinger, “New Jersey reels from storm’s thrashing”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 01 Nov 2012

   To drive home the point, Obama and Christie visited the Point Pleasant boardwalk and even engaged in a “Touchdown Fever” football toss, with Obama missing his throws while Christie’s first effort was a winner, sailing through the tire.

   2013 May 28, Tom Cohen, “Obama channels Springsteen in touring Jersey storm recovery”, in CNN

   Synonyms: promenade

present singular third person boardwalks · participle present boardwalking · participle past boardwalked · past boardwalked

1. To install a boardwalk over.

   A footpath would be boardwalked across the east meadow and would minimize compaction.

   1990 December, “Environmental Consequences”, in Camp Little Green Valley: American Sports Kids Association: Draft Environmental Impact Statement, Arrowhead Ranger District, San Bernardino National Forest, Pacific Southwest Region, Forest Service, USDA, page IV-21

   2 more examples

   The state Forestry Division is boardwalking the Alaka‘i Swamp Trail to prevent damage to its fragile ecosystem, and, as of this writing, they had completed all but a mile.

   2003, Richard McMahon, “Kaua‘i”, in Adventuring in Hawai‘i (Latitude 20 Book), revised edition, Honolulu, Hi.: University of Hawai‘i Press, →ISBN, page 314

   An 18-km trail, 65 fences now stiled, electric wires at the cross-points sheaved with PVC, the swamp boardwalked, the drainage canals bridged, the signage in place.

   2011 July, Pete McDonald, “Walkways, Gazetted and Ungazetted, 1975–2003”, in Foot-tracks in New Zealand: Origins, Access Issues and Recent Developments, [Dunedin, New Zealand]: [Pete McDonald], →ISBN, part 1 (Origins of the New Zealand Foot-track), page 196

1. A board game space and the most expensive real estate property in the predominant U.S. form of Monopoly.

   He had to pay rent for Boardwalk twice while playing Monopoly.

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   You kids don’t appreciate Boardwalk and Park Place because you never had to work for them.

   1968, Art Buchwald, Have I ever lied to you?, volume 85, Putnam, page 128

   “Do not stop at Boardwalk. Pass Go and head directly for the airport. Swiss Air flight forty-one. I’ll explain once we’re on board!”

   1989, Susan Hufford, Miracles, Dutton, page 46

   Stopping at vegetarianism or a particular form of meditation is like hanging out on Boardwalk and forgetting to pass “Go.”

   1993, Alan Cohen, The Dragon Doesn't Live Here Anymore, Fawcett Columbine,, →ISBN, page 71

   So go make a Jenga tower, build hotels on Boardwalk, beef up your vocabulary with Scrabble[…], fall down in Twister, say you’re Sorry!, sink a battleship, put someone in check, and see what Colonel Mustard is up to in the library!

   2006, Sacha Zimmerman, For America: Simple Things Each of Us Can Do to Make Our Country Better, Reader's Digest Association, →ISBN, page 34

   When you’re dating you are rolling the dice. Most people hope their dice helps them land on Boardwalk.

   2016 December 9, Roosevelt Wright III, Intermission, When One Season Ends A New One Begins, Unboxed Possibilities, unpaged

2. broadlyAtlantic City itself.