“Gehen” with genitive?

Question

I saw this in _Der treffende Ausdruck_: > Die Nachbarin grüßte ihn kurz und ging ihres Weges, aber der Kollege unterhielt sich mit ihm, während sie auf den Bus warteten. I’ve never seen a _gehen_ plus genitive construction before. From the context I assume it just means _she went on her way_ but I’m curious as to why one would use the genitive there, if it sets a certain tone, and if using _gehen_ + genitive is appropriate/necessary in some contexts.

Answer 1

Your hunch was correct: it's just an idiom to express going one's way, but somewhat dated and stiff.