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Definition

The route followed by an itinerant Christian preacher in the United States.

The path to spiritual redemption or salvation, especially as involving attendance at Christian revival meetings presided over by itinerant preachers in the United States.

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Origins

Probably an allusion to the sawdust which covered the floors of the tents in which religious revival meetings were often held.

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In Context

  • "The Rev. William A. (Billy) Sunday, one of the most noted evangelists of the old "sawdust trail," died suddenly tonight of a heart attack in the home of his brother-in-law, William J. Thompson, a florist."
  • "Mr. Bernstein explained that this was not obligatory. All he meant was that the suit was good enough to be married in, or for that matter to be buried in. "Or to be born anew in when Billy Sunday comes to town and I hit the sawdust trail," suggested the purchaser."
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See Also

  • circuit rider