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The paved pathway across the grassy knoll became unused in favor of a .... [NEED WORD FOR TRAIL FORMED BY FREQUENT USE AS A SHORTCUT].

user44811
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    When the path is formed by animals it is often called a "game trail" or if appropriate a "deer run." Perhaps in this case "footpath" would be appropriate. – Lumberjack Jul 21 '16 at 14:24
  • Consider also the word you used to describe the situation: "Shortcut." As in, "The paved pathway across the grassy knoll became unused in favor of a shortcut." – Lumberjack Jul 21 '16 at 14:24
  • My mom loves to point out that roads are often built on old trails, and old trails are built on ancient tracks, and ancient tracks identify the path of least resistance (i.e. as much downhill as possible). In her words "cowpaths always follow the path of least resistance". So my mom would say the word is "cowpath", but I don't really think this is general enough for your purposes. – Dan Bron Jul 21 '16 at 14:26

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As I just happened to stumble across a word for this in Dutch, Wikipedia helped me find the desire path or desire line:

A desire path (also known as a game trail, desire line, social trail, herd path, cow path, goat track, pig trail or bootleg trail) can be a path created as a consequence of erosion caused by human or animal foot-fall or traffic. The path usually represents the shortest or most easily navigated route between an origin and destination.

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