The basic design of one plate, one hatch still works for many applications, even if dwarfs will muck around and produce reams of cancellations.
My .40.24 example case was a trap array that goblins were supposed to enter (needed valid path into the fort) but that dwarfs weren't (they always wanted to clear goblin blood out of it). I.e. the array was just there to interrupt dwarfs' passage, goblins could have one-way passed over it but never made it through the trap - it offered a route for AI pathfinding that was never practically used. Whenever a dwarf tried to kill themselves in the minecart grinder, they passed over the pressure plate -> pressure plate lifted the hatch -> dwarf climbed into the air space over the pit -> decided it was "dangerous terrain" and returned the way they came, cancelling the job. It got really stupid when someone puked on the hatch cover and everyone tried cleaning it (can't be done while hatch is retracted)
Dwarfs will not climb or jump past holes if there's no urgent need (enemy in sight, complete lack of path while hungry/thirsty...). It's a different matter for intruders, they're significantly less susceptible to one-way designs now.
You can also make one-way passages that are dwarf-operated via lever:
-> ˘.ň.┼ ->
-> pathing direction
Before the lever is pulled, no-one'll path to the destination to the east, because the door is shut.
Once you give a "pull lever" order, a dwarf will walk across the closed hatch to get there. Pulling the lever retracts the hatch (revealing the pit underneath) and opens the door (opening path to the target where you want the dwarf to move). No other unit will willingly go there, because they won't path through the pit. In order to return to the west, the moved dwarf has to take another "pull lever" job, closing the door and extending the hatch again. Personalising the lever to the dwarf you wish to move/isolate allows control.
And you can move dwarfs along unwalkable paths via minecart, through "ride" jobs. Typical unwalkable but "rideable" features are statues, unwalkable workshop tiles, pits and water. Magma is also rideable, but spectacularly unsafe, delivering the riders as ‼riders‼ quite often.
EDIT: while magma-skipping is ridiculously unsafe for bystanders, it appears to be fairly safe for the rider. One skip off magma reliably failed to set dwarfs on fire.