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The Wrong Side of the Tracks

 

The Wrong Side of the Tracks


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Meaning:

The Wrong Side of the Tracks means that someone comes from the poorer side of town, the part of town where people live who are considered of a lower social class. 

“Oh, There from the wrong side of the tracks.”


Origin:

The Wrong Side of the Tracks has been used since the second half of the 1800s. This idiom derives from the idea that railroads often ran through towns, separating the poorer side of town from the wealthier side; as mentioned by Thorne Smith in the Stray Lamb in 1929, it reads:

“In most commuting towns, there are always two sides of which tracks serve as a demarcation. There is the right side and the wrong side. Translated into terms of modern American idealism, this means, the rich side and the side that hopes to be rich.”


Example:

Today, we still use this phrase to express that someone is from an area that sees hard times and that their life is not easy. An Example sentence is:

“I grew up on the wrong side of the tracks in a typical working-class family that struggled with money.” 

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