one side

one side

English

Etymology

Probably short for "move to one side", that is to one side of a passageway.

Noun

one side

1. (idiomatic) A direct, somewhat impolite demand to ask someone to move out of the way.
   • 1933, Barnaby Ross, Drury Lane's Last Case, March 1946 republication as by Ellery Queen, Little, Brown, page 45:

     […] sign hung from the bronze knob, and it stated without equivocation that the Britannic Museum was "closed for repairs."

     But the Inspector was made of stern stuff. He closed his right hand and with the resulting fist pounded formidably on the bronze.

     […] out popped the gargoylish head of a bulb-nosed old man.

     "Hey!" snapped this apparition. "Can't you read English?"

     "One side, brother," said the Inspector cheerfully. "We're in a hurry."

     The doorman did not budge […]

   • 1952, Cyril M. Kornbluth, “Make Mine Mars”:

     “This is no time for sympathy,” I said. “Now one side or flipper off — I gotta go to work.”

   • 1957, J. D. Salinger, "Zooey",

     "I'm late now, Fatty. C'mon. One side," Zooey said. A Philadelphia highboy had been moved out into the hall, and, together with Mrs. Glass's person, it blocked Zooey's passage.

2. (idiomatic) A place where things are stored or reserved, as in:

   He put next year's reserved seed on one side.

   He put some money to one side.

Anagrams

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