Why this word is great
TIDEWAY — [Noun] A channel in which the tide sets, especially in the tidal part of a river. From tide (the periodic rise and fall of sea levels) + way (denoting a path or channel). Unlike "current" (which flows indifferently) or "estuary" (which sprawls with mingled waters), a tideway is the precise, obedient groove where the sea remembers to kneel twice a day. It is the slick, muscular coil of the Thames at Greenwich, the silvered trough where herons stand sentinel at low tide, the hidden pulse beneath the mudflats that drags the whole river backward—a reminder that even the mightiest waters are bound to something older than themselves.