rut, wheel track
轍 centers on the deep groove left by repeated passage: a rut or wheel track, both literally on a road and figuratively as a fixed pattern.
轍 combines 車 (vehicle) with a phonetic component that originally depicted a line or track, together suggesting the rut left by a wheel.
A vehicle 車 leaves a deep track in the ground, and the right side looks like a path with repeated marks: 轍 is the rut carved by wheels.
For テツ, imagine a heavy iron (鉄, てつ) cart cutting a deep rut: 鉄 -> テツ, and the wheel track is as hard as iron.
extravagant; absurd; unbelievable; preposterous; unreasonable
rut; wheel track; furrow; groove; footsteps; wake
to repeat someone's mistake; to make the same mistake as one's predecessor; to follow the ruts of a previous cart
wheel tracks left by vehicles that have passed before
to repeat someone's mistake; to make the same mistake as one's predecessor; to follow the ruts of a previous cart
switching or shunting (of a rail car)
switchman; pointsman; rail transport worker who operated railway switches (points)
switch; points
to repeat someone's mistake; to make the same mistake as one's predecessor; to follow the ruts (of a previous cart)
railway frog
person or thing in imminent danger; fish on the chopping board
imminent danger; impending hardship