by the by
"by-the-by" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“by the by” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a prep_phrase. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 9
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Used to introduce a new topic; incidentally, by the way.
Corpus desk
Index EN-by-the-by · by the by · English
by the by · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 9 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "B" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | by the by |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Prep_phrase |
| Letters | 9 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “by the by” in English
Rare enough to double-check
by the by is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as aprep_phrase. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Used to introduce a new topic; incidentally, by the way.".
The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for by the by, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: The second "by" is a noun meaning "a secondary issue". Phrase used since the 17th century. The correct English form is by the by, spelled B-Y- -T-H-E- -B-Y.
Definition
- 1Used to introduce a new topic; incidentally, by the way.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how by the by appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Now, Mrs. Clarke was one of those to whom caps and crape were the very morality of mourning—she was not the only one, by the by, with whom propriety stands for principle,...
She could not get it open, and after all my display, I had to take the Curate (whose name, by-the-by, I did not catch) round the side entrance.
Etymology
The second "by" is a noun meaning "a secondary issue". Phrase used since the 17th century.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.