"way back" citation from Double-Tongued Dictionary

Catchword: way back

Gloss: the backmost area of a station wagon (British: estate car), usually used for portage or storage.

Filed Under: English, United States, Automobiles & Transportation, Colloquial

Part of Speech: n.

Quotation: I dare say that most people who are parents now never rode in a car seat as children. Many of us didn’t even use the car seat belts when riding around town. We scrambled to ride in the “way back” of the family station wagon.

Article or Document Title:
“Milk has an Expiration Date and so Does Your Car Seat!” (URL)

Author:
“mmcphee”

(This author is either a pseudonym or is not clearly named in the original source.)

Article, Document, Publication, Web Site:
Epinions

Date of Publication:
Aug. 31, 2006

This catchword has yet to be researched.

Posted 7 Oct 07 | Permalink | Tell a Friend

Comments:

This term has been in use for at least 40 years—since the ‘60s heyday of the station wagon. Not sure I’ve even seen it written before, though.
by Linda Healey 09 Oct 07, 0155 GMT

Yeah, that’s why I included it here. It’s not any any of the dozens of dictionaries I checked.
by Grant Barrett 09 Oct 07, 0157 GMT

As the youngest child in a large family growing up in suburban San Diego in the 1970s, I was often stuck in the “way back” of mom’s station wagon. It was not a place of honor.
by Mmmm 10 Oct 07, 0522 GMT