Fork in the road (metaphor)

A Knight at the Crossroads

A fork in the road is a metaphor, based on a literal expression, for a deciding moment in life or history when a major choice of options is required. Compare "crossing the Rubicon".

Examples

• There is a common motif in Russian folk tales, where a vityaz (Russian knight) comes to a fork in the road and sees a menhir with an inscription that reads: "If you ride to the left, you will lose your horse, if you ride to the right, you will lose your head".
• The phrase appears in the Book of Ezekiel (Ezekiel 21:19–23 NRSV).

"Mortal, mark out two roads for the sword of the king of Babylon to come; both of them shall issue from the same land. And make a signpost, make it for a fork in the road leading to a city; mark out the road for the sword to come to Rabbah of the Ammonites or to Judah and to Jerusalem the fortified. For the king of Babylon stands at the parting of the way, at the fork in the two roads, to use divination; he shakes the arrows, he consults the teraphim, he inspects the liver. Into his right hand comes the lot for Jerusalem, to set battering rams, to call out for slaughter, for raising the battle cry, to set battering rams against the gates, to cast up ramps, to build siege towers. But to them it will seem like a false divination; they have sworn solemn oaths; but he brings their guilt to remembrance; bringing about their capture.

• A fork in the road is mused upon by Robert Frost in his poem "The Road Not Taken", which begins, "Two roads diverged in a yellow wood..."
• Malapropist extraordinare Yogi Berra's saying "When you come to a fork in the road, take it" made the title of his book ISBN 0-7868-6775-2
• The album cover of A Nice Pair includes a literal depiction of a fork in the road, a visual pun on the expression.
• The metaphor appeared in the lyrics of Green Day's song Good Riddance (Time of Your Life).

See also

• Fork in the road (for other meanings of Fork in the road)
• Crossroads (culture)
• Road junction