by way of

by way of idiom
  1. Through, via, as in I'm flying to Australia by way of Hawaii. [Mid-1400s]
  2. As a means of, as in He paid our fares by way of apology. [Late 1300s]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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