off-ramp

plural off-ramps · alternative offramp

1. AustraliaCanadaUSA segment of roadway that directs vehicular traffic from a freeway onto local roads.First known use 20th c.

   Synonyms: exit ramp, off-slip

2. broadlyfigurativelyAn exit strategy.

   And at least for now, there is no discernible off-ramp for the Russian leader short of declaring a cease-fire or pulling back his forces — steps he has so far shown no interest in taking.

   2022 March 4, David E. Sanger, Eric Schmitt, Julian E. Barnes, “Washington’s Newest Worry: The Dangers of Cornering Putin”, in The New York Times, →ISSN

   2 more examples

   An adviser to the Ukrainian government said the comments showed that attempts to negotiate with Putin or find an “off-ramp” from the conflict for Putin, as French president, Emmanuel Macron, has sought to do, were misguided.

   2022 June 10, Andrew Roth, “Putin compares himself to Peter the Great in quest to take back Russian lands”, in The Guardian

   Mr. Katzenberg, who moonlights as a top Biden official and has worked with Mr. Clooney on philanthropy for decades, reached out to him to see if there was an off-ramp, according to three people familiar with the matter.

   2024 July 11, Theodore Schleifer, Jacob Bernstein, Reid J. Epstein, “How Biden Lost George Clooney and Hollywood”, in The New York Times, →ISSN