Discussion Forum—A Way with Words, a fun radio show and podcast about language

pwbear41 said:

Why do we drive on parkways and park in driveways?

People may park in driveways, but I think the driveway is really the path used to get to the garage or some other parking spot. In our neighborhood, it's against the rules to park in the driveway. Just looked up "parkway" on my Mac's dictionary and it says that it is "an open landscaped highway." Landscaped as in parks, I guess.

The words didn't get changed.

You do drive on a driveway. You drive to the place where you park your car. You can then park on the lawn, in the garage or anywhere. If you choose to, even in your driveway.

If a parkway is supposed to be landscaped similar to how parks are landscaped, parkway makes sense. BTW, you do not have to park in a park -- you can drive straight thru it.