Forum: ell.stackexchange.com
Tags: <grammar><meaning-in-context>
Title: How do I use the phrase "way back" properly?
Question: Can I say:   Wish you a safe way back to home   when I am trying to tell someone I wish them to return home safely? When I was googling, I saw that there is another meaning for the phrase  way back , which means  long ago . Because of that I'm unsure whether I am using it correctly in my sentence. Does my sentence sound ambiguous? If yes, how can it be rephrased?

Answers:
sents: text: Way back is used for 'long ago'.
text: Check OxfordDictionaries's entry way back (informal)
text: Long ago Your sentence sounds strange to me with those words in it.
text: Don't use it that way.
text: Probably , you are confused with this - make one's way back (to something) - to work one's way back to something or some place as in ...
text: I made my way back to the little town in the densest fog I have ever seen.
text: I went for a walk and got lost.
text: It took hours for me to make my way back.
text: So, read the entry and clarify your doubt! :)
answer_details: author: ell.stackexchange.com/users/3187/Maulik V
score: 6
sents: text: You can simply say Have a safe way back! if you mean to wish someone a safe trip back to the place from which they have come.
text: "Have a safe trip home!"
text: is probably the most common expression.
text: In my neck of the woods we say things like: Have a safe trip back home.
text: Have a safe trip back.
text: Have a safe way home.
text: Have a safe way back.
text: We're looking for a safe way back home.
text: Many of the roads are flooded.
text: Here's an attestation of "Have a safe trip back": And here's an attestation of "a safe way back home".
text: In my AmE dialect, "way" can mean both "route" and "trip/journey".
answer_details: author: ell.stackexchange.com/users/10264/Tᴚoɯɐuo
score: 6
sents: text: The use of an article (i.e. " a ... way back" in your sentence) makes it unambiguous.
text: The phrase "way back" referring to a time long ago is an adjective phrase and does not accept an article - or, for example, a possessive pronoun, as in "my way back" in Maulik V's example.
text: I should note, though, that the way somewhere generally refers to the route , not to one specific trip.
text: I think this is the reason the others are reading your sentence as being awkward.
text: And I don't know about other dialects, but "back to home" is incorrect for American English, and should be "back to your home" or "back home".
answer_details: author: ell.stackexchange.com/users/402/Random832
score: 3
sents: text: "way back" is an idiomatic expression for "long time ago", short for "a long way back in time".
text: For example: "When did you meet Joe for the first time? "
text: "That was way back when I still was a teenager".
text: In your case, you are using by coincidence the word "way" followed by the word "back".
text: You could have said "wish you a safe journey back home", or "wish you a safe travel back home".
text: It has nothing to do with the idiomatic expression and is fine to use.
text: Dan Bron's suggestions are slightly better, but not to a degree where your sentence would be wrong.
text: "Wish you a save way back home" sounds maybe a bit too worried that something could go wrong.
text: Of course if you are a bit too worried then the sentence is exactly correct.
answer_details: author: ell.stackexchange.com/users/6338/gnasher729
score: 2
sents: text: The phrase way back has two primary meanings, as others have pointed out.
text: Using way back can be used to refer to a long time ago, such as "way back when.
text: " In this instance way is describing the word back as being very far back.
text: How far back was it?
text: It was way back.
text: This meaning could also be applied to distance, meaning that something was a very long distance back on a path.
text: Using way in this sense is fairly colloquial, not often found in formal writing.
text: The other use of way back is to refer to a specific path taken.
text: In this case back is modifying the noun way , and often includes a destination.
text: Which way did he take?
text: He took the way back (to the house).
text: This implies that the path in question has already been traveled once, but you are now returning.
text: Your case more closely relates to the second definition, though most people would not use it that way.
text: Instead, I would simply say Have a safe trip home!
answer_details: author: ell.stackexchange.com/users/19446/David K
score: 1

Summary of the answers:
You can say "Have a safe way back!" "Way back" can also be used to refer to a long time ago, as in "way back when". The other use of  "way back"  is to refer to a specific route.
Way back can refer to a long time ago, as well as returning on a specific path.